The Fallen Angel
by redheadclover
Summary: She was given wings by an Angel, amongst other abilties. But as a prisoner in Belle Reeve, she thought it was the end of her rope. Thanks to Waller and Task Force X, Marley has a chance to redeem herself as an Angel and use her powers to protect the Suicide Squad. She meets some new friends, and an old flame from her past in the form of a tattoed-pyro ((Diablo x OC))
1. Chapter 1

Let me start at the beginning. I was not supposed to be here. I swear.

Now that is what every person in here says, that they don't belong there and it was all some kind of mistake. But of course, I did mean it in that moment when I was asked. I came from a good family life, a wealthy family life to be honest, and yet here I was at this prison with nothing else to my name. Sure, someone would cry about it.

But for me? I was more on the satisfied side with it.

The way I got into this prison was more on the shady side, you can ask several people and you'll get several different answers. I'll be honest, the way I got in here was a bit on the shady side. But here I was, in my own cell there in the back of the metahuman area of the prison, thinking that this was the place that I was going to die in.

God, it sounded pathetic.

The sound of someone banging their fist on my cell door woke me up from my daydream that I had, in which I looked over and I saw the small door that they placed in my regular cell door opening, a pair of eyes looking right at me. I thought they were going to tell me something that was usually a slur against me, then again I was used to me given my ability and all. But they said something else that made me look at them in confusion.

"You're being transferred out."

I moved out from my cot against the wall and I walked over to where I could see the man's eyes, in which I knelt down to get a better view of him there.

"Transferred out? What does that mean?" I asked him.

"It means you're moving to a new prison." I looked at him with more confusion on my face. It sounded off, like it was not supposed to happen since I was in this prison for a reason.

"Why?" I asked him, hearing him snort.

"Fuck if I know," he replied, slamming the sliding door shut.

That happens to be a recurring theme for me as of late.

* * *

Belle Reeve Prison

Louisiana

"Coming through," I was escorted through the main doors that lead into the prison, some of the guards were right behind me as I took in my new home. I was still confused as to why I was there in a new prison, but I was not one to ask questions when I knew they would spit in my eye later on. I was just quiet, seeing the guards that were on watch look at me in confusion and interest at the same time as I walked pass them.

"What's with this one?" One asked under his breath.

"Who knows," another replied, then seeing the full straight jacket I was wearing, now looking more intrigued than anything, "She's nuts?"

"She's a metahuman, dumbass," The guard who was escorting me said to him in a lower register, "She's strapped down for your protection."

"From what? She gonna go ape shit on us?" The first guard asked as we were still walking. I stayed silent, not wanting to engage with their tall tales about me and their myths. I knew they were myths, and all I could do was play the part for their sake and for my own.

"No, she'll shoot out her wings at you," The guard warned, the others going silent as I was taken to my cell there.

That's right, I had wings. They were given to me, by an Angel.

It's not a tall tale or some kind of revelation that someone would get in church, believe me. This was something that was handed to me in the worst kind of situation imaginable, not because I was a sinner, but because someone thought I deserved a good way of life with this gift. I remember that night like no other, the few times that I would remember something from the past with such clarity. It was dark, it was cold, and I was on the verge of death. But something, or someone really, saved me. Sure it sounds like I was high or drunk off my ass, but its the truth. I only have the truth to hold onto these days.

A voice, clear as day and sounded so pure that it made my own heart melt, spoke to me as I was out cold by almost being assaulted, or worse, because of a few drunk passersby. The person saved me, I knew that since the pain was no longer there. Even with me bleeding out on the floor and almost so close to death, I heard the voice as if they were whispering in my ear.

 _"You have been spared, child."_

After that, I was knocked out by something, some kind of gentle and yet soothing force that made me go out cold. It felt like someone was placing me in a deep sleep, no longer in pain and no longer bleeding out, and once I woke up I was in a hospital bed and something engraved to my back like a brand.

But it was a tattoo, a tattoo of wings.

That's right, I'm a walking talking Angel. I was not sent from Heaven, and before all of this happened, I was on the fence when it came to religion. But I was chosen by an Angel, who was sent by God apparently, and I wasn't the only one that this has happened to. God had plans, what kind pf plans I had no clue, but all I knew was that I was one of the ones chosen to be a walking Angel among the living on Earth. One of many.

Believe me, it sounded beyond real. There was more to this than I wanted.

I was escorted to my new cell, in the metahuman section of the prison. I could see how it looked a bit rougher around the edges compared to the regular part of the prison with the regular prisoners. The doors opened in front of me there, in which I was about to go in when one of the guards stopped me, placing his arm on me there and I looked at him in confusion.

"Someone wants to talk to you," He said to me.

"Who?" I asked, hearing some footsteps behind me, almost like heels were walking on the floor and over to us. I looked past the guard there as he stood still, holding onto my arm still.

"There's not need to hold onto her like that, she's not a mental patient,"

It was a woman that was walking over to me with what looked like to be a business suit there and a briefcase there in her hand. Someone else was walking behind her, a soldier who looked tough and almost having a hard exterior. But clearly, she looked like she was in charge with how she was approaching me. She looked at the guard now, almost in a stern way as the guard spoke up.

"You don't know about this prisoner, ma'am," He warned her in a calm way, but the woman didn't not at all. She wasn't phased with what the guard was telling her about me.

"I know more about her than you do since I was the one had her transferred here, so I suggest you release her before I make you," I looked at the guard in a hesitant way as the woman said this to him. Slowly he released me there, in which the woman now looked at me directly in the eye. The man behind her was eyeing me up and down in my straight jacket as the woman took a few steps over to me.

"I take it that you're not mentally crazy," She said to me in a calm manner, since she too was looking at my straight jacket with a hint of uneasiness there. I shook my head now as she tapped her foot there against the concrete wall.

"So let's get this thing off of you, and I can see your little trick that you can do."

* * *

The REC gate closed behind me as I was escorted into the large yard that they had in the corner. I was still getting used to the prison there, the new sounds and scents that were there and the new sense of being in a prison all over again as a new inmate. I hated that feeling, hated being in jail in general since apparently I was meant for more than being in jail for the rest of my life.

I felt the guard walk up behind me and unstrap the restraints on me, in which I could feel my arms moving around me again there as they went to my sides. I was wearing a makeshift sleeveless vest there over a cotton white shirt, a zip down the front and two zippers along my shoulder blades on the back that were long enough for my wings apparently. I moved my arms around a bit to get my bones to feel warm again and I walked over to the middle of the yard. I could see some of the sun there pouring down from the sky, the humid feel of the Louisiana sky was seeping under my skin as I breathed in the smog yet soothing air.

"Thank you," The woman said to the guard as he walked out and locked the gate behind him. I closed my eyes, rolling my shoulders a few times before reach behind me a bit to grab the strings that were attached to the zippers along my shoulder blades. Pulling them down, I could feel the cool air against my bare shoulders and skin where I ripped holes into the shirt, and once it was all the way down, I breathed out slowly once more and pushed my shoulders out and back. Something pulled off of me, like a band-aid against the skin but more heavenly than painful. It was aching to do it since it's been awhile since I stretched them out.

My wings.

When I wasn't using them, they were attached to my skin like a tattoo, the start of my wings along my shoulder blades and down the middle with the wings spreading out over to my shoulders and almost touching my arms to my elbows. It was the only way I could hide my wings in plain sight, and they were beyond beautiful to see on my skin. I no longer saw it as a burden to have wings, but they were something I was used to in my daily life. I would stretch them out from time to time, but I haven't flown in a long time since my arrest, and I was itching to fly again. It was a part of me that was given to me, the need to fly and stretch and to be free. I blame the Angel that did this to me, both blame him and thank him.

The wings stretched out as if they were breathing on their own. My wingspan was about 6 feet almost, the feather ruffling a bit from being out in the sun and the air again. The feather colors were almost tinted white and a rustic brown along the tips, the sensation of the cool wind against the feathers was almost hypnotic. it almost made me forget where I was for a second like I was in a dream and away from the prison. In my own sense of peace.

But only for a moment.

I turned around, seeing the woman and the soldier there watching me in intrigue. I wanted to know what they were thinking about me if they were afraid like the others since the other guards had no clue who I was and what I was capable of. But did these two? The woman looked at my wings from tip to tip, walking over slowly now as I stayed still with my wings still out, waiting for her to do something that could either set me off or warn me. Sometimes my wings would think on their own accord, whether I knew it or not. It was an intuition that came with them.

"So, Marley Kelso, you were sent to prison because of these?" She asked me now, not in a statement but in more of a wonder now as I nodded my head slowly at her, "And yet you didn't commit any crime when they man reported you in."

"He thought I was a threat," I reminded her, since she read my file apparently, "I wasn't going to fight him."

"You're not a fighter?" She asked me, almost in an unconvincing way as I folded my wings slowly behind me, feeling them nestled against my back.

"I used to be, back before I got these," I explained, pointing my thumb to my folded wings against my back, "I can handle myself in a fight,"

"Which is why I might need someone like you for a little project I have," She explained, having me raise an eyebrow at her now. She needed me, all because of my wings as she shifted a bit in her spot there at the yard, "I've seen few of your kind out in the world: Literal Angels is what the locals call your kind. We don't know whether you label you as a metahuman or something else out of this realm, but your kind has wings, can heal themselves faster than normal, have some kind of skin armor that can prevent a regular bullet from piercing the skin, admiral strength and agility….let me know if I'm missing anything else."

I stayed quiet as she listed off what I could do as if she knew about me my whole life. But she knew about the others like me, that were chosen to be like this whether we were ready for not. I wondered myself how much more was there, and if they were in the same position as me. She smirked then.

"You weren't born with these wings, and there are more of your kind sprouting up within the years," She went on as I watched her and analyzed her with my eyes, "And yet you're the first one that I was given in my files to look after. Now personally I don't see you as someone who does belong here, but other people are thinking differently,"

"People are afraid of what they don't know or what they don't understand," I explained to her slowly now, seeing her think about ti to herself, "It's harder to tell someone that I was given this ability, I didn't ask for it."

"Well, who gave it to you?" She asked in wonder as I now took a step over to her now, wanting to not tell her anything else but to really see why she was there in the first place and why she chose me of all people to talk to.

"Who are you?" I asked her back, seeing her smile at me as if I asked the million dollar question.

"My name is Amanda Waller. I'm here to offer you a job to work for me and do some good with your wings there," She explained to me, sounding a bit important when she mentioned her name and I cocked my head a there, not understanding at first as to why she was telling me this.

"A job for me?" I asked her, shrugged my shoulders and my wings too, "How can I work for you if I'm a prisoner here?"

"It's safe to say that you're no criminal, and I have ways to have a job offer for you. If you work for me, I can make your stay as a prisoner a little bit shorter." She explained, having em go still there as I was thinking that she was lying. That she was pulling my leg.

"Shorter, as in you can get me out of prison?" I asked, not wanting to sound obliviously shocked. She just kept her stare on me to show me that it was, in fact, true.

"Exactly."

* * *

Author's Note: Hey! I'm sorry if it's confusing as to what she has, but I'll dive into her background in the next chapter! I hoep you like it so far! Let me know in a review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Lincoln Heights District, Los Angeles**

 **Age 8**

I remember that day as clear as anything, it was the day that changed everything.

"Stay close to me, honey. I'll be done soon and then I can take you to class,"

"Yes, dad."

I walked behind my father as we made our way into one of the buildings that he owned. It was a nice business shop with tailored suits and hats, his own way to making money. I was with him for the day since my mom was back at home with my little brother, but I wanted to be with my dad since we were having a dad-daughter date. The sun was barely peeking out over the sun, showing signs of rainfall that could come soon over us as we entered the store and the store manager walked over to my dad with ease.

"Lovely to see you, Mr. Kelso.' He said to my father as they were both talking now about the store. I didn't want to listen to it really, in which I walked over to some of the suits that were propped up on the mannequins and I giggled, seeing that some of them looked silly. I liked his store, it was a cool place to get lost in, feeling very little and out of place at the same time. But it felt like I was walking through a forest of suits and fancy hats, the smell of the fabric filling my nose as I could hear some of the music over the intercom playing in the store.

 _Earth Angel Earth Angel,_

 _Will you be mine?_

 _My darling dear, love you all the time,_

 _I'm just a fool, a fool in love with you._

 _Earth Angel, Earth Angel,_

 _The one I adore_

 _Love you forever, and ever more_

 _I'm just a fool, a fool in love with you…._

Someone ran into the store from the front, in which I looked over to notice that my father and the manager were talking in the back and they didn't hear the door burst open and close. Someone rushed over to where I was, a blur of a small human around my size as they tucked themselves into the circle rack of jackets and not made a sound. I knew it was someone, it wasn't a silly trick of the head as I walked over, hearing heavy breathing within the rack there. Was someone in trouble? They sounded scared with how they were breathing.

Carefully, I pushed two of the jackets aside for me to look in, seeing the face of a boy there looking right at me with wide eyes. He looked so small, but maybe he was around my age. He had a short buzz cut of brown hair, tan skin and wide eyes that made me think of the chocolate fondue dessert I had the other day. He looked beyond nervous as he saw me, almost being too wide eyes for my liking.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, trying to sound kind as he placed his finger to his lips to silence me.

"Ssshh!" he hissed, he sounded desperate, " _La Policia_ is after me!"

"They are?" I asked, looking out again as I two policemen finally running over to open the door silently. I could hear the boy whimper as he saw the two of them from the front of the store as I pushed the jackets back in front of him. The boy sounded like he was in trouble, and I felt a small need to help him. He didn't look like a bad boy, nor did he look mean. He looked more afraid than anything, and who was I to be mean? I was taught to help, to be kind, and that was what I was going to do.

"What's the meaning of this, officers?" my dad asked as he walked over to the front of the store with the two policemen. They looked out of breath as if they were running after the boy and they weren't successful.

"Sorry for the intrusion, sir. We're looking for a young boy who ran past here, we think he's in your store." One of them explained.

"What has this boy done?" the manager asked as he was about to look over at the computers there where I knew he had the cameras, I felt like I had to stop him in some way since the boy was still hiding behind me in the suit racks.

"He stole from the local drug store down the street," One of them said to the manager as I thought of something to do. I knew I never lived too much, but I felt like this was some kind of an exception since I wanted to help the boy out. I stepped over to the two policemen there as I spoke up to them.

"He ran past the store," I explained, pointing out of the store, "I saw him. He went down the street."

The two policemen looked at me now, almost down at me and making me think that they were giants. Were they going to believe me? It felt like they knew I was lying, and I was thinking that they caught me in my trap and they were going to take me away forever like a criminal myself.

"Are you sure, young lady?" one of them asked me, sounding lighter now and more polite than cruel as I thought they would sound. I nodded my head.

"Yes, sir. He went running down the street," He looked at the other policemen, my dad still confused as to what was going on as the two policemen looked back at my dad there.

"Sorry for the burst in, sir," He said, then smiling at the both of us before they both left the store within seconds. My dad sighed, looking back at the manager who was walking back to him now.

"Police these days, they don't know how to catch anything," My dad muttered to him now as they both walked away again. I sighed in relief with a weight was taking off my shoulders and the hint of fear was no longer there. Instantly, I thought of the boy again and where he was. Pushing the two jackets away, I saw him there, no longer looking afford but looking at me in shock now for doing that for him. Was it such a shock? It might have since I really knew the boy and yet I saved him from being in trouble.

"You okay?" I asked him, seeing him silently nod his head at me now as I smiled. I looked over at my dad and the manager still talking almost in plain sight, having me think of an idea for helping the boy out a bit more.

"Come on, I know how to get you out of here," I urged him, reaching out my hand for him to take. At first, he did nothing but looked at my hand like it was a foreign object. But I smiled, keeping it there as he carefully placed his hand in my own. HIs hand felt warm, too warm but soothing at the same time as I tugged him.

"Come!" I said to him in a low manner as we rounded the corner from the rack and over to one of the side doors that would lead to a hallway where the bathrooms were. Once we passed the door, we both ran down the hallway in fear that we were going to be caught again and I found the door that would lead to the alleyway, out in the employee area.

"This way," I urged, feeling him run behind me and stay close as we turned to the left and into the employee area, the back door was already propped open and we made out way over to the alleyway. It smiled of garbage from the restaurant down the street and some grease from the ground below us as I could hear some rumbling of the storm that was about to come over the area. We skidded to a halt now, having me release his hand and looked left and right, seeing that it was clear.

"Thanks for helping me, _chica_." He said to me in a huff now as I looked back at him, seeing his tan skin in the glow of the stormy light and hot light his brown eyes were against his skin and against the gray background we were in.

"What did you do to get in trouble anyways?" I asked him, seeing him eye me before he reached into his back pocket, pulling out what seemed to be a King Size Hershey bar. I eyed him now as if he was crazy, "Really? A candy bar?"

"I was hungry," he replied in a huff now as he opened some of the candy bar there with the wrapped, taking a few pieces in his hand and offering it to me, "You want some?"

I stayed still, seeing him now almost look like he was offended by what I did to him.

"What? You don't want stolen candy or candy from me?" He asked me, sounding a bit gruff now as if he was trying to prove a point that he was macho. I shook my head slowly, reaching over to grab the pieces from him with a gentleness there against his skin. I popped them in my mouth now as he watched me with intrigue.

"My mom never lets me eat chocolate," I answered, seeing him grin as he ate some more now, "Was it worth the policemen running after you?"

"The cops don't like people like me," He replied smoothly now, then dusting off his hand there and pointing to himself, "I'm Chato. What's your name?"

"I'm Marley."

And that was the start of a beautiful friendship

* * *

Seattle, Washington

22 Years old

"You've seen this yet?" I was sitting at the bar there in the middle of the pub. It was late at the night, the nightlife there was slow since it was a weeknight, and I could hear the faint sound of the retro 50's song popping up on the jukebox:

 _Earth Angel, earth Angel_

 _Will you be mine?_

 _My darling dear_

 _Love you all the time._

 _I'm just a fool_

 _A Fool in love with you._

 _God, that song brought back memories_

There I was, looking up at the TV that was propped up on the wall and the news was on with another segment on the apparent angel sighting there in New York. I was still thinking of those things as fascinating, almost a bit on the surreal side as the video showed one of the angels flying into the sky and avoiding the helicopter there that was chasing after it.

"Those things are running amok!" Someone down the bar said in a huff now as I took another drink from my mug there in front of me. The bartender, Arnie, just rolled his eyes as he was getting some more drinks ready for the others in the room.

"Oh shut it, Cobb. You don't know shit when it comes to the news," Arnie said to him in a playful banter as he then looked over at me now, "You want another one, Marley."

"No, thank you," I replied as he walked on to give the beer to the man next to me.

"Next think you're gonna tell me is that these guys are metahumans like the others?" The drunk asked Arnie now as he pointed to the TV with a wobbly finger, "I think these things are dangerous, even more dangerous."

"Those things are Angels," Arnie explained to him, "The worst thing that they could do is try to convert a bunch of atheist to believing in God,"

"Bullshit, they ain't gonna convert me." The drunk replied in a huff as I drank down the last of my drink with a pit on my stomach from all this talk about Angels and metahuman, Since they sprouted up a year ago, little by little showing up in the most random places, there's been talk as to why they were there among us. Why were they there? What did they want? Were they real angels? That was the main question amongst the media, were they real?

"See ya, Arnie," I said to him as I hopped off my stool there and waved at him slightly.

"Goodnight, Marley. Don't walk alone, you never know who you'll run into out there," Arnie warned me as I waved him off and rearranged my jacket there, walking over to the front door and opening it. The song played on as I walked out into the misty night and the cool air hit my face tenfold. My hands were in my pockets, seeing the cars drive by slowly and the lights dimming the area from the street lamps. The leaves crunched under my feet as I heard the song again in my head, how it took me back to when I was a young girl. Back to when I was in that store with my father, back to Chato.

Chato…

I didn't see the shadow behind me, nor did I hear the person coming up right behind me, but I was then slammed into the wall over on my right, almost throwing me off my balance and another set of hands were in front of me there about to choke me from crying out for help. I saw the person in front of me, grabbing my throat there and another person was behind me to grab me around my waist, in which I grabbed the wrist of the person in front of me to throw him at me. I slammed my head against him, seeing him stumble back and released me. I then reared the guy behind me against the wall, almost trying to have him release me slightly as I jammed my elbow into his stomach. He almost doubled over as the first guy got up again to try and get me again. The second person that was behind me almost faltered a bit as I moved and saw the first guy throwing out a punch at me. I dodged it, seeing him almost fly down from the force he placed in the punch and missed, in which I rammed my knee cap up into his face and he fell over with blood pouring out of his nose. I thought I had the upper hand in this whole situation, up until I heard the gun cocking behind me and I froze.

Everything was dark, and everything was hurting.

* * *

Belle Reeve Prison

Present Day

"You survived….a gunshot wound," I was sitting across from this Waller person now, my hands were cuffed in front of me and my wings were back in my tattoo form again. It was a bit after I showed her my wings and she was offering this job that sounded more like a suicide mission than anything. I was still floored that she would want to hire me. We were in some kind of interrogation room there at the prison, and I was feeling more and more uncomfortable there as I was analyzing her.

"I did," I replied to her smoothly, trying to sound calm about it though inside I was worried beyond belief on being here in the first place. I saw that she pulled something out of her briefcase there that was against her side, placing what looked like to be a file there and some clippings there on the inside. I thought it was my own, but it wasn't the case. It was a just a plain file about Angels themselves since they came around.

"I've kept my eye on your kind," She explained to me, having me tilt my head at her now since it sounded so casual there out of her lips. It sounded off to me like we were being watched under a microscope for her now and she was seeing us a new species for her to poke around.

"Our kind?" I asked her, not wanting to sound offended, just yet really.

"Since Angels have been appearing to the public some years ago, you can't help but wonder what kind of damage they can do," She explained, in which she sounded very excited about talking about Angels with an Angel me. It felt like I had to re-evaluate her or have her re-think what it meant to be an Angel.

"Do you know how I became an Angel if it said it in there?" I asked her now, seeing her pause as she stayed quiet when I asked her that. Slowly, I folded my hands there on the table, taking in my own deep breath since I felt like I was about to open a big can of worms for her to hear and understand.

"I wasn't born with this, nor were the others that you read about in the news. We were…chosen if you wanna think it like that. It's not just wings that we get…we get more than that. Some of us were fine with this, and others were using it for their own reasons." I explained, seeing her almost cock her head to the side from what I told her.

"Their own reasons?" She asked, trying to get clarification.

"There are both good and bad angels out there, Miss Waller. Which one do you think I am?" I asked her, trying to find out what she saw in me that would make her want to seek me out, which included bringing me out of my old prison and into a new one that was different and more maximum security prison. Why was I here anyhow, really here? She would have had any other Angel off the street here to work for her at this suicide missions that she was conducting for anything in the future.

"Given your recent track record with the plenty of bar fights and vigilante stunts that include catching thieves and gang members from assaults, I think you have some potential in you," She explained to me, in which I shifted a bit when she brought up the past memories. Those were moments I really wanted to bury those thoughts back in the past and not have them be brought up again, but she was talking about it like it was regular lunch conversation.

"I didn't want to do those things," I explained to her calmly, trying to be neutral about it and not look like she did hit a nerve.

"Did someone tell you to do those acts?" She asked, in which I stayed quiet for a moment to think about how I would tell her. I wasn't supposed to tell her, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about what it was all about since it would go against some of the rules that I had against me and the others with my gift.

"You could say that."

* * *

South L.A.

6 years ago

"What do you mean I'll be arrested?" I was mad, beyond mad from what I was hearing and what was going on there in that meeting that I was having. I was back in my old apartment, in the dead of night, and I was being told the news of my newest task that I was given. But this task was not like the others: this one meant that I was going to be locked away.

What the hell?

"It's part of your path, Marley. You are supposed to be in that prison at that time," I looked ahead at the figure that was standing at the opposite end of the room, the person that was there was seemed calm about the situation there as I was getting angrier and angrier.

"My path? What part of my path included me being thrown into a prison for no real reason?" I asked in annoyance "I thought I was doing well with this whole new life that you gave me."

"This life was not meant to be an easy life," I heard in reply, still soothing and calm now as I could hear the storm coming over the area and the rain as hitting the window louder and louder now. I made a fist at my side since it felt like I was getting another round of philosophy thrown at my face.

"I didn't ask to be treated like a criminal, and i"m so close to wanting this taken away from me," I said it with a bite to my tongue there, seeing the figure finally moving forward from the darkness of the room for me to see his face. I knew him, from the moment he spoke to me in the hospital room some years ago after my close incident with death and plenty of other times we spoke together, he would still give me some kind of chill there. His name, on earth mostly: was Jacob.

He had the image of a boy who was around my age, if not a bit older. He was trying to look like any other human around the area, scruff there on his face and a hoody jacket with skinny jeans and sneakers. He seemed to be someone that I would meet at the bar, let alone someone who was sent from Heaven. But since he was supposed to look normal to mortals and almost appealing, I didn't know his true form since he was forbidden to show me.

"This is the path that you chose when I gave you this gift," He reminded me, a flicker of lightning coming through the room and I could see the shadow of his own wings there along the wall, a feature that he would have even through his own wings weren't out. I cringed a bit now seeing them for a split second, taking in my own breath there as he spoke again.

"Marley, you have become more of the person I knew you could be, if not better. When you accepted this new life that we gave you, you knew the consequences. But I reassure you, as I if before when I gave you this life and your wings, that this will not be in vein," He explained, reminded me again of the promise that he gave me back in the hospital bed when I was afraid and scared to do this. When I turned my back on my old life, my own family that thought I was no longer in my picture, my old heart and who fragile it was.

Fragile for a certain person.

I had to remind myself that he was good on his word, that he wouldn't lie to me. It wasn't in his blueprint as an Angel to lie and to do anything ungodly or unholy, but he was more like my mentor than anything really, almost like my own guardian angel. I could feel the radiant feeling of his aura that he was spreading on me: peace, calming sense of security, and the sense of strength that only an Angel would give.

"This is part of my destiny?" I asked him, making sure I was hearing this right. He nodded his head at me slowly, not saying a word now as I was thinking this over. I had to be in jail, for what? What was going to be the cause of me being locked up? What was waiting there for me?

"Marley," Jacob said once more to me now, his voice soothing once again like it was old times before when he would talk to me. There was a sense of me needing to believe him since he was the one who was almost like the one who birthed me into a new life like this.

"You can do this, the outcome will change everything for you and others involved," he reassured, in which I felt like I had no other choice in the matter like I had before. This was the one choice that I knew I was going to hate, and yet I was not going to be one to defy him, I've done that before and it almost cost me everything, Was it going to be the same now if I decided to go along with this? Did I have any other way out? It felt like this was the one thing I still had to do in order to make this right for my own life.

"What do I have to do?"


	3. Chapter 3

Downtown Los Angeles

Age 23

The first rule about being a Human Angel: You don't mention being a Human Angel unless it's important and life threatening.

I know it sounds like Fight Club, but then again it's one of the truer rules that they gave us. I knew that if I said to others, they would think I was on the crazy train and I would need to be in a psych ward. But Jacob knew that regular humans wouldn't understand it, something about being a human species and the concept of God and his Angels was far beyond their brain capacity. People were calling us the modern Nephilim, which is what was used back in the back during the times of The Bible for people who were half human and half Angel. Sure, it was profusely wrong, but we weren't going to correct it. We were just meant to be there amongst the regular humans and meta-humans, to blend in and to show some sort of extraordinary grace and peace amongst them. It was still weird that I was chosen since my own track record was not the nicest.

"Leave the ultimate sacrifices and miracles to us, you're there as a secondary use of good."

Secondly, we still have the sense of free will, since we were still human and God gave us that ability when we were created. So, we could choose whether or not to use our new Nephilim way of life and abilities for good or for bad. It was in our court now as after we accepted the wings on our backs. There were good reasons for those being Nephilim, but we were ultimately the ones that were going to do the dirty work if we wanted. I felt as though I had nothing else to lose when it came to my life, so might as well help when I could.

We weren't Nephilm, since we weren't born as half human and half angel, but we got another term sprung on me. Being a Angel, or what were later called as The Fallen to the modern society since it was catchy, had some extra tricks. It included, but not limited to strength and agility, higher endurance, the ability to heal myself and others with the right amount of Grace within myself, Perception to notice other Angels around me both human and nonhuman, Skin like armor that could withhold other weapons. I could also hear the voices of those who are lost souls, or dead really as if they were calling out. It's weird, hearing dead people, but it's helpful from time to time and I have gotten used to it.

Sure there was limitations with this, but Jacob taught me all he knew and all that he could teach me within the short amount of years I had. The first thing he taught me, was to fly. My wings, according to him, would have a mind of their own and they would react before I would. It was bizarre to learn at first, a reaction from me would have my wings sprawl out within milliseconds before I blinked. They would protect me, to consult me, guide me, and lift me when they knew I needed it.

We were standing outside one of the taller buildings of the city, looking down below at sunset and Jacob was next to me with his own wings sprawled out. They were jet black, almost looking like midnight blue from how the sun was hitting them as he was watching me looking down. I could see there, from the drop since I was on the very edge and feeling the wind wisp by me.

"Take out your wings," He instructed carefully, having me roll my shoulders out and my wings sprouted out, shaking a bit from the new wind and I took in a deep breath, seeing the small people there on the ground and the cars that looked like toy cars from my perception.

"You must trust your wings to react before you do. They are not only a way to fly and to move but a way of protection and counsel. Trust them, and they will not fail you," Jacob instructed me as he folded his hands in front of himself, "You think about it too hard, it shows your distrust and your weariness."

"Sounds like something from Psalms," I muttered to him, seeing him smirk now as I brought a book from the Bible.

"Psalm 23 to be precise," He explained, then tipping over without another word. I panicked, thinking what he was doing and was about to reach out when he was too far away. He fell, gliding down and within a second, his wings sprouted out and he glided up into the air as if he's being doing this for hundreds of years. Maybe he has, and I watched in awe now as he soared up into the sky, high above me now with no sound to it. I looked back down in front of me, still on the edge there and taking a deep breath.

"Just jump," I told myself now as I felt the wind pick up a bit. Jump into a new concept of life, jump into the concept of being an Angel, jump from the old life that never worked for me. Maybe, this time, it will work and maybe, this time, I'll be lucky enough to do something great for the world.

I closed my eyes, breathing out one more before I tipped over.

* * *

Belle Reeve Prison

Present Day

I was pacing in my cell, back and forth with my thoughts still reeling from what just happened with Amanda Waller. She wanted me to join her little group of powerful beings, mostly villains as I reminded myself, that were capable of doing daring missions that others couldn't do because of they were humans. I wondered why it had to be me, at first I had no real idea as to why. I could be useless, I wasn't a villain like the rest of the people that were on the roster apparently. Though she didn't show me the names of those who were going to be joining me if I accepted, how she made it sound was that they were good for nothing people. Either that or she had some kind of negative attitude about them from the beginning.

"Marley,"

I felt a swish of some wind coming into the cell there, in which I froze from my pacing and it was now clicking in my head from the new presence close to me. Now I knew why I was there and why I was chosen in the first place. I was making me sigh and almost roll my eye as I looked over, seeing none other than Jacob, watching me there intently as I finally found my voice with the pieces all coming together.

"So this is why I was sent here to prison," I stated to him, not as a question but as something that was laid before me, "To be part of this Task Force X."

"You've always had a good intuition," Jacob said in encouragement as I was so tempted to glare at him now since it felt like he was out of his mind.

"I should ask if this was some kind of joke, but that would be calling the Work of God and joke and I know that's against the rules," I muttered out loud between the both of us, hearing him say nothing now in return as I rubbed my face with my fingers and sat back down against the wall on my cot. For some reason, I felt played into some sick game of doing the right things for the wrong kind of people.

"You know all that I have given you has brought prosperity and goodness," Jacob said to me now as he calmly walked over to where I was, standing in front of me as I looked over to the cell door, thinking that they were going to look in on the conversation and find it bizarre. Angels can talk to each other and see each other freely, others can't really see angels unless they make their presence known to humans. So, if someone was looking into the cell through the small opening of the door, they would think that I was talking to myself.

Of course, helping out my case of being an Angel.

"I know that Jacob," I replied smoothly.

"And you know that I would not place you in any kind of danger, nothing that you couldn't handle," He went on as I was eyeing him, almost trying to give him the guilty look that I wanted to place on him so bad for doing this to me.

"But you're willing to put me through plenty of hoops to prove a point," I pointed out, seeing him think to himself now as he then shoved his hands in his pockets, already having me see that I was going to be placed in another lecture of his. He walked over, sitting down next to me on the cot as he looked dead ahead now at the wall opposite of me.

"Plenty of people who worked for God have been in cells before," He explained in almost a soothing tone, "You know at least a few of them from The Bible alone. Don't you think this could be the same way?"

"For the villains in Task Force X who are known killers?" I asked him, watching him now and really wishing that I knew what he was thinking, "I'm far from being perfect enough to be an Angel."

"Yet here you are doing the work of an Angel," he looked back at me as he said that, a small smirk on his lips, "You still have self-doubt."

"I'm still a human, aren't I?" I asked him there not trying to be snippy but it was sounding like it from how this was all happening. He sighed, looking head now as I shook my head, "I know I'm not supposed to ask why precisely I'm here and what you need from me—"

"You are here to see someone from your past," He stated, almost too shortly now as I looked back at him in almost a shock. A person from my past? How was that possible? Here in the prison? I cut people from my past. He looked at me slowly now as I was digesting this in my head now.

"I don't have one else in my past," I reminded him, seeing him think to himself now as I went on, "There's no one else for me to go to, you know that Jacob."

"That's not completely true," He stated, in which I was about to pull my hair out from the rotating words that he would use instead of telling me the fact out truth. He got up from the cot, walking over to the center of the room again as I watched him carefully with my eyes. He stared at me, the same intense and yet loving care that an Angel would give me, mostly him.

"This person was a part of your past that still considers you to be a good enough person in your heart. They changed your life for the better, whether you knew it or not, and you changed theirs. Your life has impacted their own far greater than anyone else in their own lives, and it's because of that you are indebted to them, and they to you. You're going to protect this person, and bring him another chance at life, and only you can do that." He explained, in which I gave him a sad smirk since I knew what he was going to say next to me.

"And you won't tell me who it is, will you?" I asked, seeing him slowly smile at me as if it was some kind of sick joke. I knew it was, and he was always this way too. All the Angels were, not offering to tell the complete truth and letting you figure it out on your own. I said nothing else now as the lights flickered in the room for a few seconds, the last flickers lasted a few seconds. He was gone, and I was once again alone.

I rested my head against the wall now, closing my eyes and trying to think of who he was sending me to in order to protect them. A person from my past…it almost sounded like some kind of riddle that I was going to have to figure out myself. But the one thing that I wanted to know, more than how I was going to help these villains, and more than how long I was going to do this, was who.

Who was I going to save from my past?

* * *

8 Hours Later

There were three large bangs on my cell block door, in which I woke up from the deep sleep I was in and the door was thrown open. Within seconds, four guards were coming into the room, all in full body armor and they had their guns drawn right on me. I got up from my cot within a second, throwing my hands up in the air and I said nothing at all and I tried to remain very still.

"You're coming with us," one of the guards said as I nodded my head, watching him as he was coming more carefully with a straight jacket once again there in his hands and I knew that this was only to make sure that I was not going to do anything crazy, and for the safety and sense of peace for the guards there.

I was escorted down the main hallway with at least 6 guards around me in almost a square formation, and I could see some kind of formation here in front of me with some kind of doctors and medical people. I didn't know what was going on, and yet when we were getting closer, I saw that they were about to injecting something in me.

"Hold still," one of them instructed me as he was still holding the gun a bit close to me, but not enough for me to actually feel it against my skin.

"Standby. Arming Device," I stated still as something that looked like a gun was being picked up by a physician.

"Device armed," It was placed against my neck from another physician and he pulled the trigger. Someone was shot within me there, stung like hell and I squinted a bit but I didn't yell out or grunt. I stayed quiet as someone was swabbing something there and another stethoscope was placed against my skin from a female physician.

"Injection successful. Location verified."

* * *

I was walking out the prison, through the thin gates that were leading me to some kind of huge plane that was mostly used for loading and taking on cargo. Was that going to be for me? I felt like it since I was supposed to be a criminal anyhow, according to the guards there who were still spooked by me/.

"Hold on a second there," I was stopped by the guards around me and I saw someone else walking over to us with his own full gear on with a couple of others behind him who were SEAL's. They were staying close him like they were obedient puppies themselves. It was the man who was Amanda Waller's second in command, a bit older than me from what I could see from where I was, and he already looked out of it. As if something was haunting him from the previous night and it was making him look bitter.

"She's coming with me, Waller's orders," He instructed the guards, who looked at him now like he was crazy. The SEAL's behind him were not moved by the news, looking at the guards there with insane stares as the head man spoke again, "Did I stutter? She's coming with us."

Slowly they moved out of the way for me to be alone there in the open area, in which I saw the man walk over to me now and look at me up and down with the straight jacket there. It almost looked like she was disgusted with how I was treated there, and he was thinking about it in my head.

"Let's take this off. You're a Fallen, not a nutjob." he said to me now, about to motion to one of his men to come over and help out with the straight jacket when I shook my head.

"Don't," I reassured him, in which he looked at me in confusion now as I spoke to him in a calm manner, "The others will think badly if I show up not in these."

"They don't know about you," He reassured me as I shook my head at him.

"They'll know enough if I come without any kind of restraint on me," I wanted him. I didn't want the others to look at me as someone who had special treatment since that would make me look bad. I didn't know what kind of villains I was going to be working with, and if they were just as dangerous as Waller told me they were, since having a huge target on my back was not going to be the best idea. The man agreed, I could see it on his face now as he nodded and he eyed me almost suspiciously.

"You're name is Marley, right?" He asked me, almost in a polite way but not too much. I nodded my head.

"I'm Flag. This is Edwards, my right-hand man," He said to the second in command next to him, who nodded his head at me, "Nice to meet you, I guess."

* * *

Midway City Airport

Evacuation Zone

"All evacuees must report to a FEMA representative."

Smoke was rising from the city on the left, plenty of smoke that would show that something big was already happening and or did happen in the past. Either way, it was no small fire and it was something that could not be overlooked. Flag was in the front, I was in the main area of the chopper with two of his SEAL's on both of my sides, having me feel sandwiched in. So far, I was feeling more sick than optimistic.

The helicopter landed, having me look out at the scene there as the blades were slowing down and Flag was hopping out of the chopper. It was warm and almost muggy in the sky, people were moving left and right with the military personnel almost shepherding them like sheep. I was moving with Flag in front of me and the others were once again surrounding me as we walked through the crowded area. People were injured, battered and almost broken on gurneys or makeshift cots there on the floor and under shelters. Doctors were working on patients and most of the injured looked lost.

I could feel their pain, their curiosity as to why this was happening. It was another perk of this Angel ability that I had, sometimes I could feel the emotions of others, whether I was ready for it or not. It was something that I both like and hated at the same time since their emotion was my emotion like I was taking it on myself. I was feeling it then: pain and suffering and loneliness.

"Those assholes here yet?" Flag asked Edwards nd I was walking faithfully behind them. I wondered who he was talking about at first, but it was suddenly answered from that second in command.

"Yeah, they're here."

I could see so far that there were three of them, all trapped down to chairs with army men behind them and guns pointed at them. They looked out of place there in those chairs, at least two of them were in chairs and the third on the left was strapped down in some kind of blanket. A fourth, though standing up and looking more like a beast, was rolled up and over to the other three. He was looked like he was on a standing prison with something over his mouth, with scales all over his face and skin with aa few feet over the others around him. He was a monster through and through.

"Alpha, Bravo team, on me," Flag said to the group there as he then turned and looked at me, all of the men there and myself stopping from talking,"You hang here a bit. Let me talk to these guys first and bring you over."

"Fine," I said to him as he then walked away from me, Edwards stayed behind and waited for me. There was no point for another guard to be there since he knew I wasn't going to try anything. I watched him talk to the group of military men behind him, getting the villains out of their restraints as I was hearing a voice in the back of my head there, within my own mind. It was hard to hear at first, making me squint and close my eyes. I knew it was Jacob, trying to talk to me since he had a link to my own head compared to other Angels. It was an odd thing for him to do, but it was just because he was my Maker or the one who breathed the Angel life into me.

 _"He's here…..he's here."_

"Hey." I snapped my eyes open now, seeing Edwards watching me with a knitted look on his face,"You good?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," I said to him now as someone spoke up finally from the group of villains there.

"Hey, boys! Harley Quinn, how do you do?"

I looked with intrigued eyes, seeing that it was none other than Harley Quinn there with a big grin on her face with her waded out prison clothes. She looked just as cheerful as she did on the TV when she was with The Joker, her lover and partner in crime. It gave me a chill that she was there. I could see the only man there in the lineup, but the third as blocked from my line of site. The second man that I saw and kind of knew from the news and his face being there as being a wanted man. His name was Deadshot, at least his alias was. He was a hitman, very good at shooting and was one that never missed. He was true to his name, almost close to killing Batman a few times here and there.

The two words that Jacob was whispering in the back of my were haunting me, apparently, the person I was meant to save was there, the one from my past.

But where?

"Huh? What was that? I should kill everyone and escape?" Harley asked out loud like someone was talking to her, then grinning like a Chester cat, "Sorry, the voices. I'm kiddin', jeez…..that's not what they really said."

"What do we have here? 12 pounds of shit in a 10-pound sack," Flag said as three more guard were bringing in a body bag with someone squirming in there. Once he was placed on the ground, Flag reached down with one of his knives to carves out a long strip for him to come out of, "Welcome to the party, Captain Boomerang."

Oh god, him too?

He shot up, looked disheveled with wild hair and eyes. He looked like he was stuck in the desert for days, looking around for a moment or two before punching out one guard and two others jumping on him within seconds. Flag got to him now, getting him to calm down d threatening him though I couldn't hear it, I was too occupied with my thoughts as to why I was here with ease killers. They were far deadlier than I thought. I was going to be very out of place there with these men, and there was no going back and saying no to this. I turned around, not facing them as I was thinking in my head, at least talking to Jacob within my head since I knew he was going to hear me.

 _Really? With these people? They will eat me alive._

The last person to come into the lineup was in a black SUV. I looked over my shoulder then, hearing Flag speak once more from his area near the wanted group.

"Here comes Slipknot, the man who can climb anything. Wonderful." He said as the man was out of the car, within a second he took out the marshall there that said something to him. This was making it worse as he was brought to the area, after saying that, "She had a mouth."

I was in deep trouble with this group.

"Listen up! In your necks, injection you got, it's a nanite explosive. As the size of a rice grain, but its' powerful as a hand grande," He explained to the group, but I could feel almost feel it within my own neck there. It felt real enough that there was a bomb inside my neck there since I was still technically a prisoner and I needed that kind of security, or at least Flag did. How far was I willing to go for this?

"You disobey me, you die. You try and escape, you die. You otherwise irritate or vex me, and guess what? You die." He made it sound so simple and like he would rather be anywhere else as if he was placing the fear in them.

"I'm known to be quite vexing. I'm just warning you." Harley spoke up for her sitting posting in her chair, looking like she was lounging with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Lady, shut up!" Flag scolded her, seeing her pout, "This is the deal: You're going somewhere very bad, to do something that'll get you killed. But until that happens, you're my problem." He said in almost a snappy and grumble to the group now as Deadshot eye almost eyed him in annoyance now, finally speaking up since he was the one in front of Flag.

"So was that like a pep talk?" He asked.

"Yeah. That was a pep talk."

"There's your shit. Grab what you need for a fight. We're wheels up in 10." Flag instructed him now in a bitter manner, almost with venom on his tongue. He was about to turn away when Deadshot spoke up once more.

"You might want work on your team motivation thing, you heard of Phil Jackson? He's like a gold standard, ok? Triangle bitch, study." He made the symbol there with his fingers as Flag glared at him. Flag then looked over at me now, in which Edwards walked with me over to the group now. Once the villain saw me, they stopped their simple looks and the amusement on their faces as they got a look at me. I wondered what they were thinking, seeing a woman there who looked sane in a straight jacket and a somber look on her face as Flag then pointed at me, looking at the group.

"Lucky for you sacks of shit, we have a Angel, or a Fallen if you wanna call her that, who is working for us," He said to the group now as they were watching me, "This is Marley Kelso, a Fallen that was assigned to help with this mission. She's going to help us, and she is personally working close with myself and your employer. None of ya'll can take her on, trust and believe me, so I would suggest none of your try anything on her since ya'll know how Angels work and fight. Keep your distance, and don't be stupid with her."

I looked at each of them, saying nothing and letting them judge me there. They must have heard about Fallen, either thinking we were great or just plain stupid. I wanted to know, personally, what they were thinking about when they were watching me. Slipknot look wide-eyed, the monster looking fellow tilted his head at me, Deadshot was serious, Captain Boomerang was eyeing me up and down, and Harley almost looked amused. It was the last person that I saw, the one that I didn't see before from the strapped blanket chair that threw me for a loop. It was a blow to the stomach and a blast from the past since I knew those eyes anywhere.

They were attached to a man who was a bit buff, muscles were seen under his orange jumpsuit and a shaved head. But his face, chest and upper arms, were covered in tattoos. They were mostly of skeletons and things that could represent death: teeth along the upper lip and his face looking like a skull, Hillside etched along his jawline, a Grim Reaper sickle on his forehead. I knew I should be afraid of on how he looked, but I knew the man behind those tattoos, and he knew me too.

We both said nothing, but our eyes were saying everything. I was to scream out his name since it was on the tip of my tongue. This was who Jacob wanted me to save, the one person from my past I never thought I wanted to see again.

Chato Santana, or as he was known on the streets, El Diablo.


	4. Chapter 4

Downtown Los Angeles

Age 11

"Bend your back a bit more…there you go. That'll stretch it out," I sighed through the movement of my back as I touched the mat below me with my hands. I was bent backward, seeing the world was now upside down and I was seeing my reflection there in the gymnastic mirror that was on the wall there. I could hear the faint sounds of the cars going by from outside the building there along the main street in LA, and the classic music being played on the piano near the other side of the room to have me work there. It was Waltz in A Flat Major Op. 39 No 1, a favorite that they would use when we would stretch.

This was one of the main parts of my day: going to gymnastics class. I begged my mom and dad for me to go to gymnastics class, though my mother thought it was more of a leisurely activity than a real class for me to use. But she agreed to it none the less, which made me happy since I was getting three hours a week away from the both them as they worked. It wasn't that I hated them, but I didn't have a real schedule those days. This was my one class that I didn't have to worry about people watching me or judging me.

I was simply me.

"Very good, class. We'll pick up on the routine next time on Sunday," I unrolled myself and got back up in ease as the piano kept playing, the other girls were walking over to their things against the wall as I was stretching out my arms there to cool them down. I didn't want to leave just yet, and sometimes when I asked the teacher, I would get to stay and be by myself for a few more minutes as she did some things in her office which was next to the classroom. She would watch me as I would work on my own rolls or lifts with the leg, humming in my own head Clair De Lune. I would have it on a CD and play it once in awhile on the small boombox we would use in the classroom, and once the girls were out of the room and over to their own parents, I was still staying behind and I moved to go into a handstand to see how long I could hold it.

Once again, everything was hanging upside down and I could feel some of my hair hitting my face. I blew it off with a puff of air and I saw something in the reflection of the mirror, which showed the big windows that would who's us the outside sidewalk and streets. There was a young boy there, looking right at me and tilting his head so he too was upside down. He grinned and waved at me, in which I grinned back at him.

Chato was here.

* * *

"How was class?" he asked as we sat by the side there along the grass in the park outside the class, I was then who was sitting, and he was the one who was propping up against the large tree we were hanging out at. Every time after class, Chato would meet up with me and we would have some time to ourselves before I would have to head home. Since we met some years before, we've been getting close as friends and meeting outside my father's shop without him knowing. So far, we've been keeping it up for years, and I saw him as more than just a regular kid from LA. He was kind of me, adventurous for trying new things, and he would speak his mind all the time with me. Not to mention I loved how he would smile, it felt like looking at a Christmas Tree for the first time eery time I did see him grin at me.

"It was fine, we're learning a new routine next week," I explained to him as he leaned his head back against the tree, "For Christmas, we're gonna put on a concert."

"Really?" He asked as I looked up at the sunny day there in the sky.

"Yep. My mom and dad are excited to see it," I explained some more as I thought about how many months away it was.

"Maybe I can come out and see it," He suggested, in which I looked over at him, seeing him play with the zipper on his thing cotton jacket.

"You wanna see a bunch of girls twirling around?" I asked him in amusement, in which he playfully scoffed at me and shook his head.

"Naw, just you. You're pretty good at those tricks ya do," He answered, in which I shrugged.

"I'm okay," I countered, but she shook his head again.

"You're good at those flips," He reminded me, "Better than me, I would break a neck," I chuckled from hearing him say that as he looked out at the city near us. The park was the small amount of green that we had since everything else showed the life of the city, including skyscrapers and industrial buildings. I liked this park since the smog somehow was nowhere near the park. It was like magic.

"So, you wanna go see that one movie that came out?" Chato asked me as he was grabbing one of the pebbles that were near his feet, throwing it in the wind now as I shook my head and grabbed the straps in my duffel within my hands and I thought about it.

"I can't, I'm having some family over," I explained, seeing him look over at me with amusement there on his face.

"Isn't it the family from that one fancy place?" He asked, which made me smile since he clearly didn't know how to pronounce it. Neither did I really.

"Yeah, they're all about having good manners," I explained, seeing him snort to himself now as he was digging his heel in the grass there on the floor.

"I have good manners," he mumbled as if I offended him in some way. I looked at him in a confusing way.

"What makes you think you don't?" I asked back, not in retaliation but in curiosity. He eyed me, almost looking like an animal that was wounded. I grabbed my bag and moved over to where he was since it would confuse me when he would get this angry or drawn away from me.

"I'm not fancy like your family," He explained to me roughly and simply.

"Who said they were fancy?" I asked him back.

"The way they talk and the way they dress makes them fancy," He replied, in which I cocked my eye at him.

"Does that make me fancy?" I challenged, in which he looked over at me now and eyed me up and down. If it was anyone else, I would be intimidated. But it was Chato, someone I grew close to as a friend, someone who I knew hated peaches but loved strawberries, who hated heights and would read comics all day long. Who had the warmed eyes in the world.

"Nope," He replied casually now, having me smile at him, "Besides, your old man hates me."

"Since when do you care about my dad?" I asked him now as I pulled out my jacket from my duffle bag to throw on.

"Since he gives me dirty looks when I talk to you outside your school," he replied smoothly with the gruff back there in his voice, "Like I'm not good enough to be your friend."

"I don't really care what my dad thinks," I reassured him as I shuffled through my bag to find the jacket. I could see him watching me from the corner of my eye as I grabbed the hood there and I spoke again there, "He's mostly having his nose there within his computer than noticing me anyhow."

He said nothing as I threw on the jacket and shuffled a bit in my spot there on the grass to keep warm since the sun was giving off a cooler effect from going down the city. I finally looked over at him, seeing him eye me not with the usual hard look that he would give, but something softer. I could tell that was rare of him to look like that, especially with me.

"That's sad," he said, not as a statement but more like he was feeling sorry for me for saying something like that about me. I bit my lower lip then, thinking that it was real sad that my dad never really looked at me in a way that a dad should. Neither one of my parents if I was going to be real honest. Sure, they were warm and comforting, but something felt like in translation, a piece of the puzzle was missing and I wanted to find out what it was. But now I was hearing it out of Chato's mouth and in how he was looking at me with no pity but with actual sadness there for a brief moment. I looked down for a bit, my hands in my lap and I could hear Chato clear his throat for a moment before he shifted over to sit next to me.

"Let's go get an ice cream, I know the perfect place to get some," He said in hope there as I looked back at his face.

"Aren't you going to meet with your friends for basketball?" I asked, since we both knew each other's schedule very well from memory, "I know they don't like me anyways."

"Eh, I can skip a game to get some ice cream for you," He answered as he shrugged his shoulders there saying it like it was just another conversation with us. I knew his friends were not huge friends of me, and it was vice versa. We were opposites amongst our friends and against the world, and yet we were content with one another. He was one of the very few good friends that I had and that I would love to be stone constantly.

"You would do that for me?" I asked, almost sheepishly as he grinned at me, his whole smile already lighting up the area there in that park with just the both of us.

"You're my friend, Marley."

* * *

Present Day

The straight jacket was off of me now, thanks for Edwards. But I wasn't thinking about that, I was thinking about someone else.

I said nothing, neither did he. We both were staring at each other like there was nothing else going on around us. The people were walking around, going on about their business as we were watching each other like we were foreign aliens. I knew we had a job to do and all, but I couldn't move at all from who was standing there and watching me with his same intense warm eyes that I knew when I was younger.

He was really there. Chato was in front of me.

He looked so different, with the tattoos there all over his body and etched into his skin to give him some kind of story. It made him look more…edgy and almost like he was representing the dead. With the skull illustration all over his face, along with gang names on his chin and lower stomach and what seemed to be a rosemary necklace around his wrist. It looked like he was trying to tell his own story without saying a word, not to mention two types of skeletons there along with his chest. He was so different from how I saw him last so many years ago, and yet the same at the same time. The way he stared, how his hands were balled to his sides not in a threatening way but in a calm manner, and how his eyes were stern and straight forward.

"Uhh….you two know each other I take it," Deadshot said in an uneasy way now as we were still staring at each other, for what could be more than a minute or so without saying a single syllable. What was I going to say to him, since its been ears since I saw his face and it felt more like a memory than a reality that I saw him? I finally looked away from Chato now, seeing Deadshot look at me now with a bit of hesitance since I was staring at him dead on.

"Never mind," He grumbled going over to his own case with his initials on the top. I looked back at Chato now, seeing that he hasn't moved a bit from before and she finally spoke up, which was now petrifying me

"You're an Angel?" He asked, his voice was so low now and almost thick with his accent that was both soothing and yet edgy at the same time. He still sounded the same, even though now he was an adult instead of the younger adult version of himself when I saw him last. It felt like my whole world shook when he first spoke those words to me, knocking things around me as I took my own breath and I nodded my head.

"Yeah," I replied, feeling foolish that it was the first thing that I would say to him. I had plenty that I wanted to tell him since it's been years. How are you? Are you happy? Have you thought of me? Really, I was going to go with that question? He shifted a bit, the opening of the top of his orange suit was showing the tattoos there along with the muscles that he's built up too. He looked confused now since I spoke that to him and he found that out about me. Yeah, I had to explain that too to him.

"I didn't know you were in prison," I voiced to him, staying a bit still and keeping my distance there since it felt like I could scare him from moving one inch. He shuffled, the wind picking up and it was making his prison shirt move along with it.

"I had my reasons," He replied shortly, in which I said nothing and stayed still there with my hands folded in front of me. This felt way more awkward and not like we used to talk back in the day. I wanted that back, no longer the weirdness that we both were feeling, well at least what I was feeling.

"Shit, this is awkward," Boomerang grumbled to himself now as he was squatting in front of his own possessions, eyeing us for a brief second before he looked back down. Once again, I was reminded that we weren't alone and other could be watching. But it felt like we were alone, at least it did to me.

"You…you look good," I said to in almost a bad attempt at making him sense that I was not here for a bad reason, that it was the same old me that he knew as a child and as a teenager. I was still his friend, It was still me, I wanted him to see that since I knew that it was still him. But he said nothing once again, and I wished that I could just really hope that this was a bad dream and that Jacob was playing with my mind.

Within a second, he walked over to me at a brisk pace, in which I panicked thinking that he was going to do something that would make me regret being here. But he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into an intense and almost bone crushing hug. The intense muscles he had against my skin, the musky scent he had, and the overall warmth he was harboring. I was blown away from what he did and how he was holding me like he was so afraid that I was going to leave him, again. God, I didn't even want to think about that again. Me, leaving him behind and in the dust.

My one regret.

"Hey, you two!" I was still wrapped up in the feeling of hugging Chato again, the warmth that I thought I have forgotten from our constant get together and our close talks that we would share. I have missed him more than I would admit, almost like a drug that I thought I kicked for good. But this was real, and within a second, I felt myself being thrown back by someone who was behind me. It was a guard, who grabbed me from behind and threw me back before I would even say something. Out of Chato's arms and out of the warmth and memories I had.

"Hey!" Chato said in almost a growl as he took one step over to them in a look of anger. I knew that he would try something, and now that we both were prisons it could mean that we both could die if we were going to be out of line. I threw up my hand at the guard now who was about to shoot Chato with his gun there on his hip. The guard looked at me now, since my hand was out reached to Chato and Chato was making fists at his sides like he was about hit them, and for what? For touching me? For pulling me away?

"That's enough," Flag said to the guard now as he walked over seeing what was going on. He looked at the guard, and then at the both of us. The guard slowly lowered his gun then, not saying a word more but looking like he wanted to rip Chato to pieces himself then. Flag looked at the both of us, trying to find the right words in his head I guess.

"Get your shit," he said to the both of us, keeping his voice low and still with authority behind it as he started to walk away before he looked at me now, "Don't push it, Marley." He was wanting me not mess with the deal I've made with both himself and with Amanda Waller. I could see it on his face when he said that to me in a low tone. He walked away slowly, having em breathe out now as Chato was once again looking at me in suspicion. Both of our boxes were put side by side, in which I looked at the markings from spray paint with the symbol on top. A pair of wings.

That's funny.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chato asked me under his breath as I opened my chest there and I saw what was left inside. My old pair of jeans, the t-shirt I wore when I was arrested that had the LA Dodgers symbol on the front, my makeshift vest that I would use for my wings when I was ever in need of being in combat, my gun holsters, my old boots, a couple of my knives and daggers that I collected thorugh the years of being a Angel vigilante, and a few other sorted things that they took from me. I have forgotten these things, and yet there they were as if they were taken from me yesterday.

"You wouldn't have believed me," I said back to him as he opened his own, in which I saw his old letterman's jacket from his old gang in LA. It almost cringed me up and down from thinking about that gang. He got back on his old gear, along with me getting my own gear on too and feeling the leather back on me again. It reminded me of being back on the streets and free, helping those who needed it and trying to lead this new life. Well, that was downhill now.

"You don't know that." He mumbled back to me, almost half-heartedly as I wanted to talk to him again when we were interrupted by Harley Quinn talking to Deadshot.

"Won't fit anymore? Too much junk in the trunk?"

"Nah. Every time I wear this, somebody dies," Deadshot answered her as Harley was placing lipstick on, then smirking at him with her ruby lips.

"And?"

"I like putting it on." He replied smoothly to her as she grabbed what look like to be a rather large wooden hammer with a scratched on face there.

"Goody. Something' tells a whole lotta people are about to die." She said with a wicked grin as she posed with her hammer. I was still feeling off about this, not that Chato and I are reunited with the wrong kind of circumstance and I was helping him, along with a bunch of villains and killers.

"Yeah, it's us. We're being led to our deaths," Chato explained to them, standing a bit farther away from me now as I heard him talk to the others.

"Speak for yourself mate," Boomerang said to him with a grunt, then pointing at him with one of his own boomerangs, "Hey, what's that crap on your face? Does it wash off?"

The scaly monster then chuckled in a low growl that almost sounded a bit too sinister for my liking.

"Hey, if you like a girl, can you light her cigarette with your pinkie? Because that would be real classy." Harley informed him, having me look back and forth between the villans and Chato at the same time like I was watching some kind of game there and feeling out of sorts as if I shouldn't be there to hear the conversation already.

"Hey, ya'll might want to leave ol' homeboy alone. He could torch this whole joint. Ain't that right, ese?" Deadshot asked him, in which I shot a look over at Chato to see his reaction. He rearranged his jacket on, nodding his head softly there. It felt like he lost his edginess, he wasn't like he used to be in the past. He used to act rough, but something now made him soft, but I didn't know what to was just yet.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'm cool, homie," He replied shortly, Deadshot nodding his head at him before focusing his eyes on me now. I instantly looked down, readjusting my holster there and then my vest.

"So, you're the first one of those Fallen cats that I've ever met," He said to me, the others looking at me too and having me be the center of the conversation, "Now I don't know about ya'll, but I hear these winged people are pretty lethal."

"Not to mention loopy," Boomerang said in agreement and almost a snarl, "Is it true you lot work for God or some shit like that?"

"Is it true that you got caught by The Flash on a petty attempt at a robbery?" I asked him coolly in retaliation, seeing him slowly look from me from amusement in a hint of anger there since it felt like I hit a nerve with him. I could see him grip his weapon a little bit harder now, which made me breathe out since it felt like I was being too bold at the moment against a Killer. What the hell was wrong with me?

"You know, some of you guys are tough," Harley said to me as I looked over at her and away from the threatening eyes of Boomerang, "Tougher than most of the military here. So why ain't ya springing the nest?" They all went quiet as they asked me this, having me shift from the left and right a bit now as I looked over at Chato. He was wondering the same thing as he was staring at me intently.

"I have a job to do," I replied back to him without hesitation, all of them looking at each other as if they were wondering if what I was saying was true. Sure it sounded brash on my part, not to mention almost crazy, but then again this whole thing was brash and almost crazy.

"Well shit, never thought I would work with an Angel like you," Deadshot said in a snort as I looked over at him in a low way, in which he eyed me. I wanted to make it clear as to who I was to them, even with all the rumors that they might have heard of our kind. They had thoughts about me, and Chato might have more thoughts about me now since we were reunited, What was he going to think about me now as I looked at each of them there. I have just met them, but I had to stand my ground.

"I'm not an Angel."


	5. Chapter 5

Age 17

"Stupid algebra," I mumbled, closing the book and sitting back in my chair with my head already hurting from the constant studying. I hated needing to study on a Friday night, but it was one of my parent's rules since they knew that I was going to go far in life apparently. They were pushing it as I was getting older, trying to get me into the ivy schools and the top class when it came to gymnastics, which means less of a social life and less time outside without a schedule. Sure it sounded like I was a prisoner, but ti felt like it really. I didn't know whether or not I was the eldest and the precious daughter, of that they had nothing else to do with their own lives, but I was their center of their attention.

Were they trying to bi-curiously live through me?

It was still early in the night but it felt like midnight in my own body, from the countless amount of hours devoted to homework and studying for exams. It was nauseating go sit through one more lecture about my future and where I wanted to go with my life. I didn't want to know what was going to happen to my future, it was more of a turn off than anything. It felt like the only other person that knew that other than my younger brother, was Chato.

My best friend.

Speaking of which, there was a knock on the window, almost like a light tap, which snapped me awake from my constant thoughts that were running around in my head like a runner on a race track. My room was slightly lit from the streams of small lights that were around the ceiling and near my bed and over to my main window on the other side of the room. It was a light blue room with plenty of band posts and some others that I knew my parents barely approved of, with plenty of books stacked all over the place and succulents that were placed on my desk and nightstand. Those were gifts from Chato himself since he found out I liked plants and those were the closest he was going to get to giving me plants since he had no real green thumb.

I heard it again, another tap against the window and I finally walked over there, seeing someone standing on the roof there near my window and out of view. I grinned, finally opening the window by sliding it up and then feeling the crisp fall air coming in, watching at Chato poked his head into view and he eyed me.

He was getting handsome, keeping his head shaved down and his smile was still appealing and bright. He was building muscle from constantly playing basketball and staying active with his own friends when he wasn't with me. Even as we were getting older and our friendship was still solid and good, I felt some sort of connection with him and some sort of affection for him that I didn't think I would feel for another person. He was close to my heart, and I had a feeling that he was feeling the same way for me too.

"You look tired," He said as a statement, seeing the almost bags under my eyes and looking sluggish than I did before. He was wearing his own hoodie and his regular jeans, but he was still looking appealing to me, which made me stay still and not want to say anything to him about that.

"Studying for four hours will make you tired, Chato," I answered, seeing him smirk at me.

"Good thing I don't do that," He said in amusement as he then looked around in the bedroom to see that the coast the clear, "Safe enough for me to come in?"

"Why not. I need a break from the books anyhow," I moved out of the way, seeing him crawl in with ease since he's been doing this for years. He landed on the carpet with ease, getting himself more into the room and I walked over to my bedroom and sank down on the mattress.

"So, we haven't been hanging out lately," He pointed out, not as a job to my side but more like a statement since I was getting more and busier and not having time for him or for other leisurely activities.

"I know. My parents have been hounding me on my studies," I grumbled, eyeing him now as he looked over at one the cork board that I had over my desk. There were plenty of pictures and smaller trinkets there on the wall, one of those pictures was the pair of us at the fair and taking a picture in the photo booth, back when we were 12.

"Haven't they been down your ass already for anything else, including me?" He asked me as he looked back at me and walked over to sit next to me on the bed. I had to chuckle from the antic he was showing with this conversation since he knew my parents and how they worked far too well.

"Yeah, it's like they enjoy watching me squirm under pressure," I answered, almost sounding a bit bitter about it. I hated talking about it and what my parents were doing with me, whether they knew it or not, and I hated telling Chato it since it felt more like a buzzkill whenever we would hang out. But of all the times we would talk and vent to each other, he never once hated me talking about my parents. He rather thought it was better for me to get it out of my system.

"You can never handle stress well," Chato added in agreement, in which I glared at him since it felt like he was adding more fuel to the fire.

"You're not helping," I muttered, seeing him nudge me with his shoulder and his wicked smirk was back on his lips there, almost making my stomach drop to the floor from seeing it. Goddamn, what was wrong with me?

"Sure I am, makin' you smile ain't I?" He asked me as I was slowly smiling at him from how he was talking to me and leaning against me. I felt warm and content with him, no judgment or no sense of needing to be something that I knew I wasn't. He was fine with me for just being me, and it was beyond amazing and a breath of fresh air. He was making me feel a lot of things other than smiling.

"Why don't we go out," He suggested, motioning with his head over to the open window now and I looked at him in amusement, "You need a break from the studying. Plus, I know how to get into one of the clubs downtown,"

"You know someone I bet. Well, I should hope so since we're both underage." I added, in which he rolled his eyes.

"You coming out for what?" He asked now, having me pause there and think about another sneaking out season with Chato since we've done this plenty of times before together. I bolted up from the bed, walking over to the bedroom door and opening it a crack. The hallway was deserted, but I looked over to the right and cleared my throat.

"Grant!" I said in a harsh whisper, hearing the door over to the right open and I looked to see my younger brother poke his head out. He grinned at me now, having me see the same shade of hair that I had on his own head as he nodded his head at me.

"Chato here?" He asked me.

"Wanna cover for me until I get home?" I asked him, seeing him think to himself before he would talk to me again.

"You studied until you fell asleep and I came in and checked on you," He informed me, having me wink at him since he knew what to do when he was going to cover for me.

"You're the best, Grant," I said to him.

"Nice for you to state a fact," He replied as I moved my head back in and closing the door again now, facing Chato and seeing him shove his hands back in his pockets. It was nice for the two of us to be able to sneak out together again like the old times.

"Let's go."

* * *

The music there was loud, loud and almost numbing there as we were weaving our way over to the where the dance floor was. Chato was leading the way mostly since he knew that I didn't know a whole lot of people there in the party, and never did he. We both were strangers there in the whole club that was having an early party night for underage kids before they were going to kick us out for the adults. But it was thrilling too, not knowing a person there and seeing the lights moving around in the club and the music was seeping under my skin and within my ears.

"Over here," Chato said over the music as he held my hand in a death grip to make sure we weren't going to be separated. We were getting closer to an area of the dance floor when a new song came on, a more rock song than a club beat that was bearable for me to dance to.

Once we were there, I saw Chato facing me as I grinned at him and I started dance there by myself. I was fine dancing outside the classes I was still taking, and it freer to dance without any rules behind it. I didn't mind I looked like an idiot, this was one of the few times I didn't care that people were looking at me.

But Chato was still standing there, watching me with a smirk on his face. Now I wanted to know what was going on in his head, and why he was giving me that certain look.

"Come on, dance with me." I urged him, grasping both of his hands and he rolled his eyes. He wasn't as bold when it comes to dancing, and I knew that for awhile. But I also knew the I could get it out of him more than others could get it out of him, I had that knack of a gift. Before he could say anything, I felt someone right behind me place his hands on my hips, almost like a possessive manner now as I stopped my dancing and Chato looked past me at the person who did that. He looked like he was about to murder someone, that pure anger there in his eyes and on his face.

"Heya, beautiful. Wanna dance with me," Someone growled into my ear from behind. I released my hand son Chato to twirl around on and see a young man there, almost 20 years old and he was looking down at me like a predator on prey. He had a grin on his face, but I could see that he already had a few drinks in him and he had the frat boy stature about him. He breathed football player, and his testosterone was all over the place.

"I'm fine, thanks," I replied to him in a regular tone, but he was not getting the gentleman hint there as he looked at me up and down.

"Oh come on, no need to push me away so quickly when I knew I can make you feel good," He purred at me now, in which I glared at him now since it felt like he was going to be rough with me.

"I said no, jackass," I sneered them now, seeing the smile still on his face now faltereing a bit now as Chato finally walked over to stand right behind me and he eyed the guy. I could feel him press behind me, almost in a protective way.

"Hey, back off," He said in a warning as the guy now looked over at him now, looking too stupid with his cockiness showing in his teeth.

"Let me guess, you guys are together? Sorry for saying this bro, but she's so out of your league," He said to him in a nonchalant. I gave him a death glare since I knew Chato was going to be very close to smacking him hard in the face and getting in trouble.

"Shut up and go off trying to find another girl to stick your tongue down, since I'm probably the fifth one to reject you," I explained coolly at him, in which I could see him not getting ticked off because I called him out on his masculinity. He took a step towards me, his hand now going to my wrist and gripping it tight like a death grip now and I could feel him squeeze me, to keep me there.

"Hey!" Chato said in a growl, reached over to shove him off of me. The guy moved with the shove, I included since he was still holding onto me and he went over to shoved Chato back a bit rougher now. That did it, in my mind no one was going to judge my friend and get away with it, my own boldness and anger coming out since he was doing something wrong to someone I really cared for.

I reared up the heel of my hand towards his nose, breaking it instantly and I felt him release me as he touched his broken nose in agony, roaring out in pain. Chato instantly within seconds grabbed me from behind and pulled me over towards him in worry that the guy was going to do anything to me. But he was sulking away now into the crowd without a second word to the both of us as I slowly looked around at Chato now, feeling the adrenaline right there in me from being in my first fight. He released me, looking down at my hand that I used on the guy.

"You okay?" He asked me as he touched the area now, shivers were left from the trail that his fingers left, "How did you do that?"

"You taught me that when we were 10, remember?" I asked him back, the both of us were almost yelling over the sound of the music there in the club. He looked right at me, not at my hand anymore and I saw something shifting behind his eyes and within his own mind. I looked at him in confusion now, his hand still in my own and we laced our fingers together. We didn't move there on the dance floor as everyone else was dancing around us like they were going on with their own world.

But not us apparently.

"What?" I asked him, not clearly knowing what was going on in his head. But then he slowly grinned at me, that big grin that gave me butterflies all over my now and not just in my stomach. He leaned over, without blinking or without slowing down, and he kissed me.

My best friend kissed me.

It was so soft and so sure at the same time, my head was bursting like sparks and flames there as he pressed into me and still held my hand between the both of us. I kept the kiss there and it felt like the music was being drained out from my heartbeat and how I was breathing through my nose in a sharp way. It felt like so many minutes went by since he kissed me, and once he pulled away from me slightly, he looked down at me. I thought I was the only one who had feelings in the relationship, but I guess I was wrong with that. I didn't see any signs that he liked me, but then again he might have shown signs to me and I didn't realize them since I was too naive maybe.

"Okay?" He asked me, almost for multiple things. For one, my hand since it felt like it was about to bruise. Secondly for us being there in the club. But mostly, as a third, for kissing me and seeing is I was going to be offended. I smiled widely at him, not saying anything now and I could see he was about to panic and walk away from me. Slowly, I grabbed the front of his shirt with both of my hands and pulled him over to me to be close enough where I could breathe him in.

"Okay," I mumbled against his lips as I pressed our lips together.

* * *

Present Day

Mid-Way City

The helicopter was loud, very loud as I strapped myself in and sat back in the chair. I was sitting two down from Chato and some of the others, though to one side of me was Slipknot, and the other side was the monster that seemed more like an alligator. As soon as I sat down and got settled, he looked over at me now. I could see the animal-like eyes he had and the pointed teeth along his scaly lips and skin.

"You don't look like no Angel," He said to me , his voice was deep and almost rhythmic there that reminded me of some of the gangsters in the past. But he eyed me there, not as a threat, but in curiosity.

"Thank God for that," I replied to him as we were about to get off the ground and go into the air. He chuckled then, and I could hear how his chuckle was deep and low there as he motioned to himself with one of his claws, "I'm Croc."

I nodded my head at him there as good gesture as we heard someone hopping into the open end of the helicopter while we were still going up in the sky. We both looked, seeing someone that looked like a samurai standing there, a hand on her katana sword that was on her hip. A Japan flag mask was over her face, her look was stern and an almost too serious for me to look at all the time.

"You're late," Flagg said to her

" _I was busy_ ," She replied in her native tongue to him, though I could understand it thanks to the great perk of being a Fallen. I watched her now as she looked at each of us, and the way she looked at us made it seem as though she thought she was higher up than us, and we were lower than dirt.

"This is Katana," Flag informed us as he pointed with his thumb to her, "She's got my back. She can cut you in half with one sword stroke just like mowing the lawn. I would advise not getting killed by her. Her sword traps the souls of its victims." Of course, he would want us that she was an ally in this mission and was going to watch us.

"Harley Quinn. Nice to meet ya," Harley said, once again in her cheerful mood as she threw out a hand for Katana to shake next to Deadshot and Chato. Love your perfume! What is that? The stench of death?" She questioned to snort now as Katana got her hand on her sword handle.

" _Should I kill them_?" She asked in her native language, about to pull out the sword there but Flag stopped her.

"Easy cowgirl. Ain't that kind of a mission. Have a seat.." He reassured her as Harley looked at Chato now with her big smile.

"She seems nice."

I looked ahead again as I saw the sun was going down, finally, over the city that we were going towards and everyone was quiet too. I could have sworn I heard Harley hushing Deadshot about something, but I didn't know or cared from where I was planted in the back of the helicopter. I felt like I was about to have a nervous breakdown: being between two killers and trying to act casual, going on a mission with them that could mean my ultimate death, and also working alongside with my childhood friend and old lover too was the knife digging into my side. It felt like I was about to drown in all that was happening, and there was no real reason for me to try and reach up for air.

I had to roll with it.

"Oooh! Look at the pretty lights! Are you guys seeing' this?" I finally looked over to see what Harley was talking about, seeing out my own window the damage in the city that was apparently abandoned and off in the distance what looked like to be a thunderstorm with a massive amount of lightning hitting somewhere in the city along the ground. I knew that it was not normal, and it was not pretty.

"What happened?" Deadshot asked Flag.

"Terror Attack. Dirty bombs, bad guys shooting up the place with AK's, usual shit," Flag informed the group as I was getting the feeling of anger from him, along with the others. Anger from being there and having to go into the city, anger from not having a choice in the matter, anger in general. I could feel the aura in that helicopter, and I was fighting it to not consume me.

"Right," Flag said in a halfhearted agreement, "Yeah, you're a bad liar. I don't know if they told you, but I'm a hitman. I'm not a fireman. I don't save people."

"Anything for a dollar, right?" Flag jabbed him with his words shortly after Deadshot spoke.

"You know the dark places, too. Don't act like you don't." Deadshot cackled in a small smirk at him, as if he was playing a game.

'I'm a soldier!" Flag informed, "And you're a serial killer who takes credit cards. When the shooting starts, and it will, you'll cut and run." It was almost like a threat now as I saw Deadshot look away and Flag glaring at him in hate. Deadshot said nothing now, but then he slowly pointed his finger over in my direction and kept his eyes on Flag like he too was about to jab back at him with his own words.

"The only one who's never touched a dark place is that one there," He said to Flag, his finger right at me and I stayed still as he said this, thinking that it would be wrong for me to speak, "Don't claim yourself as a saint when we got one on this damn plane."

I closed my eyes tight, shutting them so hard that I was about to scare out and just get out of here. To spread my wings and to fly away from here. They were seeing me as some God sent Angel that was going to be better than them when in reality I was not close to being a saint. I felt a cliche coming on, but I started to pray to Jacob that he would help me. To God that He would see what was about to go on.

 _Please help me…please help me._

Someone shot at the helicopter. The pilot was hit and dead by the time we realized what just append and we were slowly going down wherever we were at. I felt the free fall in my stomach as we were descending and Harley was laughing at the situation we were in. I felt like I should be laughing, but I was petrified that this was when I was going to die. I took my own deep breath, readied myself for anything that could happen

 _You're safe…you're safe with him….you're safe._

Jacob kept saying that over and over in my head as we were getting lower and lower to the ground, hitting the ground suddenly and having to roll now. I fell us going up and down, up and down, still strapped to our seats and the noises of the metal clashing with the ground roaring in the damaged helicopter. I was hearing his voice so good and true once we hit a full stop.

I was breathing out slowly, seeing nothing move for a moment or so as I was trying to move my own limbs to make sure that I was okay. Smoke and debris was within the helicopter and making it hard for me to see, but I could hear people getting out of their straps and moving around. I slowly reached over to feel along my chest what did hit me, but nothing was too serious. Only a few scrapes here and there now as someone walked over to stand in front of me. I thought it was Flag, but I was wrong.

"You alright, Marley?" It was Chato as he crouched down to stand in front of me and reach out to me. I reached out too, grabbing his hand there and he was clutching me tightly.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." I said in a huff now as I was slowly getting my senses back together and I touched the buttons that would unstrap me from the chair that I was still in. Once the restraints were gone, I almost fell to the ground, but thanks to Chato, he almost caught me from hitting the ground too hard. He helped me up from the ground there, having me breathe out easily and looked at him now.

We were close again, almost close enough for me to hug him once more. I wanted to, to have that warmth and that familiarity that I've missed for the past years. This was not the place for the both of us, I had to believe that for certain since I knew him far too well. The old wounds were there and the old scars that we both got were surfacing again after me trying to place them down and forget them.

"You don't belong here," He said to me as I was standing up to face him. At first, I was confused as to why he said that then it took me a moment to realize what he meant. He didn't think I should be there with the villains, being there and going to my death. He was sensing that I needed to be away from here and I squeezed my hand.

"Neither do you," I replied to him, knowing that he too did not belong there with him. I knew what happened to him, how he became the man he was in front of me, I knew it all. It wasn't that I left him behind when I did and never thought of him again, I kept my guard up and made sure that he was okay. I knew his ups and his downs. His down, however, was what brought him to this stage of life, and it was something that it was out of his control because of his ability.

But we were here, and we had to carry on.


	6. Chapter 6

Mid-Way City

Present Day

The city was dark, very dark as we walked away from the wreckage. I was breathing in the fumes of the wreckage along with the fires that were spouting up and around the area as we walked, sticking together as a group while the SEAL's that were there with us. I could see Edward a bit farther ahead, walking with Flag and following him obediently.

We looked so small with the buildings around us, the only sound that was heard was the crackling of the fires there and the sounds of our feet hitting the ground with every step. I was drinking it all in, going through the motions of finally being there and not having a chance to turn back. I couldn't even if I wanted to: the whole premise of the bomb in my neck was holding me there. But I thought I had a deal with Amanda Waller, which confused me. Did she want to treat me as an ally, or as a criminal like I thought I was before with this whole thing.

I could hear Boomerang and Slipknot talking to one another as I was staying a bit to the end of the group. The rest of the group was in front of me, looking around casually like we were strolling through the park. I was too focused on the task at hand when I saw someone moving out of the corner of my eye.

Two of them actually. Slipknot and Boomerang.

They were fighting the military men, which threw me off and I moved to the side now as they were punching their way through the crowd at first. Slipknot used one of his contraptions and he hoisted himself in the air against one of the building walls, whereas Boomerang was sparring with Katana. It looked like he was about to win when she got him pinned real good against the wall with her katana sword against his throat.

Slipknot was about to get away for sure, having me watch him as he was getting hire and hire when Flag took out someone on his wrist. A phone, in which he tapped the surface of it with a picture and someone loud like a pop went off in the air to stop everyone from the confrontation.

The bomb in Slipknot went off, and he went limp like a rag doll.

He hung in the sky and moved in the small wind as we were all watching him, almost unsure to react to what he did and how he was so close to living. Now it felt like the mood was slowly going back down again now as Harley was the first one to speak up.

"Now that's a killer app!" She said in an amused manner now, Flag now looking at all of us. I was now over where Croc was, seeing his own stance was a bit rougher now when Flag spoke.

"Okay, you keep playing the Hollywood Square's version of 'I'll Blow Your Freaking Head Off'?" He asked all of us, his voice was now a roar and no longer leveled. Harley touched her head, Croc growled low and to himself as I stayed quiet. Flag then looked at Chato, in which I got concerned.

"Are you next?" He asked him.

"You're trippin', homie," Chato replied smoothly back to him as I walked over to where Chato was without taking my eyes off of Flag. Flag then looked at me now, in which I stopped moving.

"You gonna try something too?" He asked me, his voice was still threatening and almost making me want to hide from him. After he said that, without me realizing, Chato moved over to me slightly with his own eyes on Flag, as if to tell him to leave me alone. I shook my head at him, seeing him move away from me and then move his eyes and some of his agitation to Deadshot.

"You next, Deadshot?" Deadshot looked at him in surprise since he didn't think he would be the one who would get that kind of shade.

"You just threaten me?"

"Oh, yeah." Flag replied smoothly without a second thought.

"He just threatened me," he said to us as he then pointed his finger right at Flag, between the eyes like eww as making his mark. I felt another aura of hate there, mostly from Deadshot as I looked over at Chato and the rest of us were walking again after that fiasco. Boomerang was released by Katana, all of us going on with our business and with the task at hand.

"I'm gonna drop him, the sword lady, Five or seven of these SEAL's. After that, I'm gonna need some help. You down?" Deadshot said to Harley now as they were talking hush-hush to one another.

"Always. What about the shit in our necks?" She asked him as she kept her eyes forward.

"Your friend's gonna help us out with that, right?" He asked her, looking over at Harley now as she eyed him and stopped walking, then slowly grinning and giving him a soft shove.

"You're my friend, too." She reminded, in which he smiled back at her.

"Stay evil, doll face. Spread the word."

Once we were walking, leaving the body of Slipknot behind to rot there probably, I saw Chato looking over at me from time to time now, something was haunting his mind and he wasn't ready to tell me or ask me just yet. I could tell.

"So….how did you become…" He asked, trailing off and giving off the awkward feeling that I was getting from him. It was on the tip of his tongue and I finished it for him.

"A Fallen Angel?" I asked him, seeing him carefully look at me directly in the eye now since it felt like he was afraid to do that this whole time, "That's a bit of a story. It's….it's a little complicated."

"I take it it was after you left?" He asked me, which made me slow my walking for a brief second since I felt like he was going to bring up a usual conversation that I knew we both were going to have to talk about. But I didn't think right now at this moment it would be the best time.

"Something like that," I replied to him, taking in a shaky breath.

"You know, after you left, I thought you were gone for good," He explained to me as I then looked at him directly in the eye now since it felt like he was going to try and blame me.

"You think I wanted to leave, didn't you?" I asked him, not in a stern way but trying to keep my voice calm and low for the sake of no-one else hearing us. He said nothing as we were walking, in which I felt like I hit a nerve with him, "Well I didn't. I was forced into leaving you behind."

"Didn't look like it," He said back in a casual manner.

"I didn't want to leave you, Chato," I said again in a reminder to him. I knew that it was the truth: that I didn't want to leave him behind and go away from him. it killed me that it happened like that, and now it was almost killing me that he thought it was that way, "I wanted to stay with you."

"Boss, we've got movement up ahead." I heard Edwards say to Flag up in the front now as Flag nodded and got his gun up and ready.

"I'm on my way," Flag said to him as he then moved to talk into his Comm, "Amanda, we have hostiles up ahead." All of us were perked up now, waiting to see what it was that they thought they saw as we were turning a corner and going down what looked like to be an alleyway that was leading to nowhere. There were cars turned over in different directions and abandoned, a few fire spots here and there, but it was at the end of the alleyway that took us all by surprise. I could see that there some kind of beings there behind a few of the cars, almost like they were hiding and talking to one another in some sort of langue there as we were watching and not moving.

The SEALS were aiming and staying still in front of us, leaving the Squad behind them as they were waiting for some kind of signal as to follow through. I watched those being's not seeing that they were human but they were something else. Something that seemed less human. Some of the Seal's left, maybe they were told to keep moving on and we were going to keep an eye on the beings that we were nothing there.

"Hey, I like these odds, mate," Boomerang said to Deadshot as himself, Deadshot and Harley were standing behind one of those abandoned cars and watching the scene, "Just say the word."

"Yeah," Harley agreed, in which I knew that they were planning on getting the SEAL's out of the way since they were slowly realizing that they were not liking being there "Come on,"

"Yeah, uhh, hold that thought," He told the pair of them now as he walked over to where Flag was, getting one what looked like a scope for his eye to see something there too. I looked right at the beings, though they were far way.

"Rick, why do they look like that?" Edwards asked Flag in a harsh whisper.

"Just stay cool," Flag informed him. I could hear something talking to me, in the back of my head now as I was watching them. There were a few voices that I could hear, and they sounded desperate. At first, it worried me since I didn't know where it was coming from and who was saying it, but then I realized it wasn't coming from me or the squad.

It was coming from the beings,

"The hell are they?" Flag asked him now as he was still wearing his scope over his eye.

"You cut and run I'll blow your head off," Flag warned Deadshot as Deadshot was not using his rifle up near his eye to see. The voices were getting louder now as I was channeling it, trying to focus on only a few of them. It was as if something was making them talk, it didn't seem normal.

Help…she is making us….she is making us….

Kill….kill them…..

Kill!

Bullets were flying now as those things were running over to us now, we were firing back without any real voice in the matter. First, it was the SEAL's that were shooting back and trying to keep them back and at bay. One of them had guns, other had axes and various weapons that made me cringe a bit as they were flying over the cars at us. I could see Harley pulling out her gun, Boomerang hiding out in the alleyway, and Croc moving his hoodie off of his head to show his full face. I reached over to grab the both of my pistols that were placed in my hostlers, getting them ready as I was hoping and praying that I wasn't going to commit some kind of sin.

"Is this allowed, Jacob?" I asked to myself in a whisper now as those things were going to get closer. Was I going to order innocent people that were in there? Should I do this, though I was working for them and making sure they were protected? I heard one reply back from Jacob for a split second before I reacted.

"Fight for them."

I shot at the first two that were about to hit me hard, seeing them fly down to the ground as I moved to the side of one of those beings trying to slam me down with his first. I grabbed the arm there that was too close to my head and I threw him across the way over to the brick wall and I saw him fall to the ground. It's been awhile since I fought someone, let alone fighting as an Angel. So it felt like I was a bit rusty as another one tried to grab me from behind and I mauve red my way out of it.

I grabbed my pistol and shot between the eyes again and then kicked one hard in the chest that was about to get close to me. It felt like I was moving without realizing it, my own mind and hands were moving without me realize it. It came easy, with this new ability to be an Angel, I knew how to protect myself much better than any other person since they would have to think before they would act when it came to combat. Not me apparently.

"Flag!" I whirled around and I saw Flag being dragged away by three of those things, Harley was ducked on the ground and a huge grin was on her face as she was watching this. Flag was trying to get out of the hold as Harley looked at Deadshot.

"Good riddance," She said in amusement.

"Harley, if he dies, we die!" Deadshot said to her now as she suddenly rushed over to help him. I did too, moving through the crowd of goons and SEAL's too. I didn't want him to die either since I too was there to protect him because he was in charge of the whole area. I grabbed one the goons to pull him off as I punched out another one and a third was beating up by Harley and her bat. Edwards came up behind me to shoot out the rest of the goons as I grabbed one to hoist over my head and to the car behind me, hearing him fall to the metal top in a groan and he stopped moving. Edwards and Harley helped him up then within seconds, though Harley looked sour.

"Thanks," He thanked her.

"Shut up," She replied as I looked back at the rest of the fight and who was left there. One of those SEAL's had some kind of launched as another one of the goons was about to run towards the back, behind me and I looked to see where he was going. I saw who he was about to hit, and it made me almost scream out in a panic: Chato.

Who was not fighting at all.

I bolted over to goon, jumping up on top of the car that was between them and I jumped high, throwing the dagger in my hand right at the goon's back before he could strike Chato. The goon fumbled and fell tot he floor in a groan as I landed on his back, twisting the dagger within a second and seeing him slump to the floor. I breathed out slowly there as I then looked up at Chato. He was watching me, with wide eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing as I slowly moved up and stood there in front of him.

What was he thinking when he saw me, someone for his past that he used to care for, holding a dagger with blood on it and looking more like a warrior than anything. I must have looked different and almost sinister to him now as I placed the dagger back on my hip where I had a holder for it. I didn't know what to tell him, I really didn't since it felt like more doors between us were being opened.

"That's how I cut and run," Deadshot said to Flag as he walked away from the battle we won. Flag said nothing now as I walked over to the group too, where Harley was beating the head of a dead being and was doing ti over and over again.

"Hey. Hey, come on." Deadshot said to her as he leaned against the back of a truck and I stood near it.

"What? I saw it move." Harley defended, kicking the being slightly and then pointing, "See? It flinched. I think." I wanted to smile from the antic there as I saw Chato walking over to us, where I looked away from him and dusted some of the soot and dust off my jeans.

"Hey, you were some help, Princess," Boomerang said to Chato.

"It's better this way, trust me," Chato answered, showing some flames with his fingers there as Boomerang looked at him like he was a joke.

"Oh yeah. You're the fire bloke, eh?" He asked him not, almost mocking him.

"I was, yeah," Chato replied without a second thought and remain cool. Boomerang took out a lighter and lit it up in front of Chato.

"Well, lookie here. It's fire! Woo!" Boomerang waved the lit lighter in front of Chato, whom said nothing and watched the false dance back and forth. Once he snapped the lighter closed, Boomerang looked over at me now, seeing that I watched the whole time. At first, he said nothing to me, but then he scoffed and placed his lighter back in his pocket.

"You ain't worth it," he grumbled as he moved on and I looked at him over to Chato. I wanted to know why he didn't fight since he's here and that's basically what we were there for.

"Why didn't you fight?" I asked him, seeing him shuffle a bit as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"It ain't my fight," He replied, saying nothing else now as I heard Harley speaking up behind me. I looked over my shoulder, watching her peer down at one of the fallen goons and she cocked her head to the side.

'What are they?" She asked Flag as she looked back at him.

"I don't know," Flag answered.

"That's bullshit. This guy had a $3000 watch," Deadshot said to him as I saw Boomerang looking down at a watch in his hand, listening to see if he was still working, "Is that a person?"

"It was. Now it's not." Flag said in a factorial manner before he looked over at snapped at Boomerang, "Hey, don't."

"What?" Boomerang asked, looking at him with her sneer.

"We got a job to do. Keep moving," he said to him as Croc looked at him too, too close for his own liking. he went to talk to Edwards again as Deadshot looked at me, his eyebrow raised as he pointed to my dagger on my hip.

"Is that an Angel dagger?" He asked me, more in curiosity. I looked down at my hip with the dagger, placing my hand on the handle and drawing it out for him to see. Mine had a small curve to the end, showing the foreign aspect and some writing in Hebrew along the side of the dagger and around the handle. It was a prayerDaggers, to the Fallen Angels, were as close to Heavenly weapons as we were going to get when it came to us fighting others. It had Spiritual powers to it, a more powerful weapon than any other dagger was. Plus, it was one of the only weapons that could kill a Fallen Angel.

"Yeah," I replied to him as he eyed it now, almost not wanting to get too close. He looked more interested it in, intrigued was the right word.

"So…that thing can do a good amount of damage, huh?" He asked me in which I smirked at him and placed the dagger back in the holder that I had for it.

"Only if it needs to bring damage," I reassured him as I tapped my dagger with my fingers, "Neve killed another Angel just yet, but you never know." It was true: I haven't fought an Angel before. I felt like it was going to be some kind of sick irony that I would have to fight one in the future, and it would be ugly. If I thought fighting these goons was going to be bad, then who knew what else was going to come next.

* * *

Los Angeles

Age 17

"You're not going to see him again,"

"Like you can tell me what to do."

"You're my daughter and you are going to do what I say,"

I was having one of the biggest arguments that I have ever had with my parents, both of whom were not officially forbidden me from seeing Chato ever again. Sure I knew it was coming, but not like this. They were already hounding on my ass for not being on top of my grades and my activities they planned out for me. But once we saw me giving Chato a kiss outside the school when they were going to pick me up early, that did it.

They blew everything up.

"What has he done to me that's made you so angry?" I asked them both as we were standing there in the living room early in the afternoon after they brought me home and slammed the front door behind me.

"He's not good for you," My dad explained in her stern manner, "I know the type of guy he is, which is—"

"Kind," I interrupted, "And pretty smart. If you would have gotten to know him you would have seen what I see in him."

"He kissed you, in front of everyone! What an embarrassment!" My mother said in almost a bitter manner now as I rolled my eyes since they were trying to pin him down and make him something that I knew he wasn't.

"I kissed him!" I yelled at the both of them, in which they both went silent now as I made fists at my side and I looked at them with an intense stare, "I was the one that kissed him! I like him, damn it! He's my best friend and he's someone I really care about. You should be accepting if you're my parents." I had to vent out all that I was feeling about them, with what they were putting me through and how they were fine with it. It made em sick tot think that they were my parents and they thought this was good parenting: planning my life and not letting me have a say.

My father looked over at my mother, who was hiding her face in her hands as I took out a shaky breath and trying to not seem like a raging lunatic. He took out his own deep breath now as he looked a time again.

"You won't see him again. He's not good for you, and he will drag you through the mud when he is done with you," he instructed me as I shook my head at him slowly. I was no longer going to follow the rules with him since it was no longer a thought of me listening to him because he loved me. he was trying to control it, and I was going to make sure that it was going to slip through his fingers.

"I would rather move out of this house and not see you ever again than stop talking to him," I warned him, almost sound like venom from my lips as he then glared at me. I then looked over at my backpack, grabbing it in my hand and moving to go out the door.

"Where are you going?" My mom asked as I threw my backpack over my shoulder and then reached to open the door. I looked back at the both of them now with my hand gripping there hard on the door and feeling as though I could break it with my bare hands.

"I'm going to go and make out with the guy you both hate," I said, slamming the door behind me. It was heartbreaking that my parents would think that they were doing the right thing with me. I didn't want to be in the house anymore, it felt too consuming with my own head and sanity, and I think of a way to get it normal for me again.

I had to get out.


	7. Chapter 7

Los Angeles

Age 22

3 months after Angel-Rebirth

It was odd being back at those streets there, but I knew I had to go to one person that I knew would help me with this, with what was going on with me. As soon as I was living this new life, I had to figure out what that meant for me when it came to being A Fallen Angel. I was petrified, beyond scared since it meant that I was going to be changing everything in my life. Where was I going to go now since my parents were no longer speaking to me, I had no other relatives that were close enough for me to go and stay with. So now, it was all about the one person I knew I left behind and I wanted to fix things up with since we left it so sadly with one another.

But I had to find him on my own first.

It's been years since I was around here, and I knew some of the places that we would hang out in the past. I had to backtrack and see if he was still at those places if he thought of staying around in the area in general. But then again, after asking a few people about Chato Santana, they were giving me hard looks and looks that were showing me that I was insane. Was I insane, or was there more to Chato that I didn't know about. I thought it was the latter, in which they told me a few places that he would hang out.

"Try the local diner down on 3rd street. He's always there,"

I knew the local diner, I went there every once in awhile with him when we were younger. In fact, it was the place where we went for Ice cream for the first time back when we were 9 after we snuck out from my Gymnastic class without my mother knowing. I loved that place, and of course, Chato knew the people there and got us ice cream for free. We became regulars after that, and now it seemed as though I was going to come back again and have those memories brought back up to me.

Was he going to be happy to see me?

The last time we saw each other, I knew I broke his heart. But I didn't want that. I wanted the both of us to still be close as friends and who know, maybe more than that. I still cared for hm and held him close to my heart. I still dreamed about him, thought about him when I would walk down the streets and try to find another bridge to live under. He was a source of light for me to go by, and now I only hoped that we would get back to start that I needed.

That we both needed.

Late into the night, I made my way over there. The diner was right down the street, having me walk a bit faster there and looked around to see if I was going to be followed by someone, or something. It felt like it as I walked across the street and then over to the small diner on the corner. The wear and tear of the diner could be seen on the outside and the faint smell of the greasy food was coming out of the top of the diner itself. The sensation and the feeling of the auras from the people around me were moving in and out within me. I was still getting sued to the notion of sensing feelings around me, and it was scaring me since I had an idea what to do. Jacob, my apparently Guardian Angel, told me that I would get used to it and it would be second nature in time.

This whole thing was not going to be second nature. Not to me,

Slowly, I looked up and over into the window of the diner, in hopes that bursting in would be more dramatic and less of a casual thing. I wanted to make sure that he was in there. The streetlight outside the diner was giving me enough light, but I still had my black hoodie was over my face so that I was still hidden within the darkness. I was afraid, afraid that he was not going to like what he was going to see from me. But I had to be optimistic since this was my best friend and someone whom I gave my heart to.

For a second, I saw nothing where I was at one end of the diner. But I could hear more laughter from the other side, in which I looked down a bit to see a big group of people there talking and laughing with each other. It seemed like a regular group that was there. They were all huddled at one of the corner booths with soda and ice cream around each other, close to my age really and I was trying to look at every face.

I then saw him, I saw his face and it took me back so many years since I saw him last. He looked older for certain, but he also looked beyond handsome. With a clean looking face and that smiles that would make me melt within a minute, the broad shoulders and his muscular arms along the tan skin. It was a perfect picture for me. I beamed, thinking that those butterflies that I was feeling in my stomach were from him and not from anything else.

But that then turned to shit. Since he wasn't alone.

His arms were wrapped around another person, another girl to be precise. He was beaming from ear to ear, talking to her and looking down at her and she was batting her eyelashes at him like she was trying to be coy. I knew that look on his face, and it pained me to admit it as he was holding her closer to his own body like he was possessive. It felt like a dull knife in my stomach and it was twisting it harder and harder as they were both looking at each other like there was no one else in the room. In my head, I thought this was a joke and a sick one too. But then it was a reality, and I could only watch from afar.

I was going to tell him that I still loved him, that I didn't mean to leave him behind with his own broken feelings about me. I was going to ask for forgiveness and that we could start all over again with what we were about most art together. But now, all of those thoughts and things I was going to tell him were going out the window and being buried for good. I had nothing else to say, and I felt a tear going down my cheek as I watched silently while he leaned in a kissed her.

He was moving on, without me.

I moved away from the diner window, sniffling and wiping the tear from my eye now as I looked down from the window and down at my floor. What was wrong with me? I felt like a fool to think that he would wait for me since I was the one that left him. It would be too much for me to think that he would wait around all this time, he was doing what he needed to do. He was in love with someone else, and he deserved that love. Not from me, I wasn't worthy enough to love someone like him. Chato had a good heart, a very good one underneath his tough exterior.

I walked away from the notion that we could be together. Who was I to break that up for him, to shake up his new life that he had without me? I didn't have the heart to do it since he did look happy with that girl. He deserved a good life, and I was going to give it to him.

Even if it meant without me there in the picture.

* * *

Mid-Way City

Present

The window smashed, having me snap back to a painful memory and we all stopped our walking to see Harley Quinn, retreating her bat from hitting the glass in the window of a store. She reached in, grabbing an expensive clutch bag as Flag, Edwards, and a couple other SEALs had their guns out and ready for a fight.

"Seriously. What the hell's wrong with you people?" Hs asked, mostly her, but to the rest of us there as Harley rolled her eyes while throwing the clutched bag over her shoulder.

"We're bad guys. It's what we do," She replied to him coolly now as we were walking again along the line of shops in that street. I was looking in that store now, seeing now expensive those things were. The florescent lights of the shop were shining down on me too brightly, having me squint a bit as I moved back to the sidewalk again where the others were.

"See anything you like in there?" Boomerang asked me, almost in a mocking way now as he saw me there standing alone. I looked back at him, raise an eyebrow at him now since it felt like he was not pleased with me being there. In fact, it seemed as though he was bothered by the fact that a Fallen Angel was with a group of villains.

"Not you apparently," I replied calmly to him, hearing him chuckle slightly now at my dry humor about him and his grin showed his gold teeth there behind his lips.

"Clearly you're no saint. Enlighten me, Luv, are you completely an Angel or is there a hint of sin in ya?" He asked in almost a coy manner, licking his lips in the process. He was more messed up in the head than I gave him credit for. But as soon as he said that, I saw Chato walked over and stood in front of me to block me from Boomerang. Since I came onto the team with the group, Chato's been trying to either stay on my side when it came to things or just protect me in general. It was like when we were younger and together again. But now it was different, now we were older and we both were capable of handling ourselves.

So why was he sticking up for me?

"Back off, Boomerang," Chato warned him in his growl since his voice was deep enough. Boomerang eyed him, then chuckling a bit to himself as he pointed one of his fingers at Chato.

"You gonna protect her, Princess?" He asked him, then turning around and walking away before chat could answer now. I rolled my eyes since the last thing I wanted was someone to try and fight all because of me. It wasn't like the whole tween scenario such as Twilight, but it was still stupid since we were here on a mission. I looked at Chato, seeing him breathe out slowly to calm himself down and he eyed me too.

"You don't have to defend me," I reminded him as we were walking together side by side again, following the group. He said nothing for a moment, having em think hat he wasn't going to respond to what I said to him and I looked ahead again. But he finally spoke up, sounding calm than he did before with Boomerang.

"I still care about you, you know," I looked at him with a hint of sadness there as he said it as if he had to prove a point to me. He thought I have forgotten about his own feelings towards me, and it almost made em feel rotten that he would think that.

"I know you still care," I said back to him, "I care about you too."

"I didn't know what happened to you, and I thought maybe it was your parents," He explained as we were catching up with the group there along the sidewalk. I nodded in agreement there since I knew what he was talking about. My parents, the one sore spot in my relationship with Chato.

"They had something to do with it, but I left them as soon as I could," He looked at me then with some shock there on his face, "I ran, almost sprinted if I could, away from them. Haven't seen or talked to them since I was 22."

"So….for all that time you were…" he trailed off, trying to piece it in his head.

"Running out on my own, living from place to place and just being able to make ends meat," I explained as the sounds of my boots were hitting the light concrete. I did run from place to place, mostly on my own with nothing else to rely on but my wits and my own intelligence. It sounded so sad.

"You should have came back," Chato reminded me, in which I bit my lower lip as he went on, "You would have been able to at least stay with me and —" He was trying to wrap his own head around me being alone all that time and him not being to help in any way he could. It must have killed him to hear that coming from me when I was making it sound like it was another part of my life.

"You had Grace," I reminded him, seeing him go quietly as he looked at me now when I mentioned her, her name making him lose his previous thoughts and notions that he had about me, "I wasn't going to interfere with that." I didn't want to bring her up since I knew what happened to her. But didn't think that I would tiptoe my way around the conversation without bringing her in the conversation. I saw that it affected them, which made me walk away from him now since it felt better to not talk about it anymore and just leave it as to was.

There were more pieces to put together.

We walked a bit more now over to the center of the city, in which Flag stopped us in what seemed to be the intersection and underneath what looked to be a plane's wing.

"Take a knee," Flag instructed as we all stopped and did as he told us to. He was eyeing the building that was bit farther away that was the tallest one, and of course had some kind of fire behind it to make it glow. Deadshot walked over to talk to him now as I grabbed one of my pistols to hold in my hand for reassurance.

"Our body's at the top of that building," He said to the SEAL's, and Deadshot was listening in as I stood next to Harley and Chato, "We get up there, pull them out of the vault they're hiding in. Helps extract us off the roof. It's miller time,"

"Check," Edwards replied to him. We were walking again over to the business building there. I felt like we were about to hit another wave of those beings there, in which I wanted to be ready for anything and everything that could come our way. The way Flag and the SEAL's were walking made it seem like they too were on their toes with the upcoming assault that we might be facing.

"Waller? We're about to enter the building. Get that chopper ready." Flag said in his com piece as we stopped in front of the lobby there of the building, not moving and he was waiting for something or someone to pop out. He was being cautious, in which the rest of us were standing in the back since we had nothing else to do at that point.

'What do you say we get this over with?" I didn't see Deadshot walking up past the SEAL's and past Flag and he went on, without anyone stopping him.

"What the hell? Deadshot. Fall back." Flag hissed at him from his spot in the front. I sighed, walking back the others too with my pistol out, already sensing that I needed to follow him because it was my job to protect the squad. In this case, I had to protect Deadshot.

"Marley! Goddamn, it," Flag said behind me now as I was staying close to Deadshot before he went to open the almost shattered glass door in front of him. As soon as he swung it op, most of the glass fell to the floor and made enough noise.

"You my guardian angel now, Marley?" Deadshot as I opened the other side and the glass did the same thing.

"Don't die, then I don't have to be," I said to him as he grinned and moved his gun to be loaded and ready. Flag and the others were now behind us, Flag moving to stand on my other side as I was in the middle of the both of them. Grabbing my other pistol, I had both out in in front of me in case something were to pop out,

"You mind if we tag along?" Deadshot asked Flag now as we were making out way over to the central lobby area where we saw the receptionist desk. Everything around us was glass: the walls and a bit of the floor too. Once we made it to the lobby area, I saw a couple of the guys moving over to the computers screens to check the security cameras as I walked over to the middle. The middle of the place was hollowed out, small sets of stairs were leading to the elevators on either side and the ceiling was far up in the sky for me to see where I was. I looked around for any kind of sign of danger, and I didn't get anything yet from my own senses.

"Looks like we have a spot of luck, eh? Be a walk in the park. Easy, peasy," I could hear Boomerang say to the others, having me look back at the group. Harley was walking back and forth with her bat along her shoulders, looking at the place with her pretty face and soft demeanor.

"Don't make me shoot you," Deadshot warned him as Boomerang chuckled. I could hear it again, though, looking back up at the high area there. Those voices were far away, almost too distant and once again. They sounded desperate. I felt like I needed to get closer to where they were.

 _"They're here…."_

 _"Help us….please help us…."_

Something was off, in which I kept my eyes up in the sky there at the higher levels, hearing those voices again as I could hear someone walking up behind me.

"What is it?" Chato asked me as I was scanning the area.

"There are people here," I replied softly, hearing my own voice echo into the lobby as the others were walking over too, "I can hear them."

"There wasn't any on the computers," Harley reminded me as I shook my head, "I don't hear a thing."

"I'm not talking about people that are alive Harley," I said, hearing nothing on her end as she must have seemed spooked from what I told her, "One perk of being someone like me is that you can hear the dead."

"You speak to dead people?" Harley asked as if she was quoting the thriller from back in the day.

"More or less," I said slowly as I heard them again. I tried to change them out, to hear which floor they were on. I concentrated on the voices, tuning the specific ones that I knew would take me there. It took a moment or so to know where they were.

Top floor.

"They're on the top floor," I said to the group, but mostly to myself as I reached behind me and grabbed the zippers that I knew were there.

"How do you know?" Croc asked me as he walked over to stand next to me too, looking up in the same direction as me.

"I can hear them here," I replied to him now as I got the zippers down. I moved in front of them a bit now as I rolled my shoulders, feeling my wings finally being bale to be placed in use for once in this whole mission. They sprawled out, moving easily and without any noise now. I didn't hear anything from the others, having me wonder what happened. I turned around then, facing them.

They were speechless.

"Holy shit," Deadshot said in a gasp from seeing my wings. Boomerang's eyes were wide, Croc was eyeing me suspiciously, Harley was somehow nowhere to be seen and must have moved on somewhere, and Flag with the SEAL's were a bit shocked from what they were seeing.

The last one that I saw was Chato, who was looking at my wings from tip to tip, not being able to say what was on his mind apparently. I could tell he was at a lost for words, and he should. He was seeing someone he knew or he thought he knew was not showing him something brand new.

"That's a good play on words there, mate," Boomerang said to him now as he too found his voice. Then, the elevator door dinged, all of us looking in that direction. There was Harley, waving at us with her bat over her shoulder as she was ascending.

"God damn it, Harley!" Flag said in a hiss as they got their guns out and loaded, running over to what seemed to be the stairs. I knew I had a faster way now as I looked back up ahead.

"I'll meet you there," I said to the group now as Flag looked over at me in question. I felt my wings now moving, lifting me up into the air with ease. I was launched, from the force of the wings high into the air and within a few seconds, I landed on my feet on the top floor balcony.

My wings moved to be kept in the back there, folding against my back as I still had out my two pistols there in my hand, looking left and right to see if I could channel in those voices again. At first, I heard nothing. It made me worry that I was hearing something else and I was just hallucinating what I was hearing. I could hear a ding from the elevator a bit aways from me, thinking that it was Harley I walked over there now. But walking a few steps I was stopped by one of those beings who threw out a punch at me.

I dodged them within seconds, shooting him right in the head as two more were popping out from nowhere and tried to attack me too. I shot at the both of them, one of whom didn't take to the bullets well as I grabbed his head and slammed it hard against the railing at least three times. After the first two fell, I threw the third one over the railing and he went falling down to the lobby on the ground level.

I breathed out slowly, looking around one more time before placing at least one of the pistols back in the holster there that I was wearing. There were the SEAL's and the rest of the Squad there at the elevators, in which Harley walked out as if nothing happened. I walked over too, peering inside the electron that she got out of and I saw the body of at least one of those goons.

"Come on, let's go." She said to the others, in which they reluctantly followed and I went along with them. They looked from her over to me, then startled to see another sight there. They were still getting used to my wings being out, which was the icing on the whole package that I was giving them apparently.

"Wish I had me some wings, would make this job easier I reckon," Boomerang mumbled as he passed me. Croc watched me as he passed, growling in some sort of encouragement and Deadshot just nodding his head at me. Harley, on the other hand, smiled at me and giggled as she looked at my wings.

"Those are nifty if I do say so myself," she complimented me, walking past me with a pep in her step as I looked to Chato last. He was still not saying anything about my wings, though now I wanted to know more than ever what he thought of them. More than the others, I wanted to know how he felt.

"You have….wings," He stated, trying to soak it in now as I nodded at him.

"Yea, it comes with the package I guess," I mumbled back to him, seeing him then take out his own shaky breath as he walked over to me a bit, standing right in front of me and reached out for me to touch his hand. Was he accepting all that was going on and just wanting tog et back to where we once were? I reached out too, touching our fingers there lightly and having a sense of warmth there just from the contact alone. I could hear the aura of him, as soon as touched skin to skin. There was hesitance, a small amount of warmth, but mostly feeling lost.

He was feeling lost for some reason.

"Come on you two," Flag said to us as we moved our hands away. I moved away from him, not wanting to say another word about what I was feeling or what he was feeling. Chato reluctantly followed suit, the pair of us regrouping with the others. We walked into what seemed to be a room with a bunch of computers and some damage already being done in there. It was already thrashed up there as Flag lead the way into the room.

"Hold," he told the group as we all stopped. I scanned the room, as well as the rest of the group, 'Use extreme caution." I cocked one of the pistols in my hand again and I looked from one corner to another, thinking that we were about to walk into a trap of some sort. Some part of the ceiling was already hanging down, dangling from what could be a recent assault.

"I don't like this, Flag," Deadshot said to Flag in a statement.

"I don't like it either," Flag agreed, which was a first. Deadshot then reached and grabbed his white mask, throwing it on here as Harley grinned.

"Pussy," She cackled.

"I will knock your ass out. I do not care if you're a girl," Deadshot warned her as I walked around a bit, moving over to where Croc was. I was about to take another step when Croc stopped me, his hand on my collarbone there and I was about to question him. He growling, pointing up and looking, the same with me now as we both stared at the ceiling. Something moved, almost murmuring and grumbling up there.

"Oh shit," I muttered, grabbing my spiral to point at the ceiling just as those beings fell from the ceiling around us in a circle. We were surrounding, one of those things fell on top of me and having em hit the floor on my back with my wings still out. He was so close as to grabbing my face as my pistol as knocked out of my hand and I had nothing there within my hands to defend myself.

He grabbed my throat as I reached down to grab my dagger there along my hip to hoist it in his face seeing him gurgle there as I twisted the knife and he fell to my side. Guns were going off and they were fending them off, using their weapons and even their bare hands. I got up and held my dagger out as I dodged one that was barreling into me, stabbing him in the neck as he overshot.

There was a loud crash, having me look to see Boomerang being shoved into a smaller office with a being on top of him, who had a knife. I ran over, jumping on top of one of the fallen beings and chucking the dagger into the back of the one that stabbed Boomerang. He jolted back in time for Boomerang to slice him in the throat with his own weapon. The being fell and Boomerang shot up, the knife still in him apparently. He grabbed the handle, the knife coming out and was attached to a thick book.

"Thanks," he said to me as I grabbed his hand and hoisted him up. I grabbed the handle of my dagger that was still in the being and I held it tightly in my hand.

"Don't mention it," I said to him as we both looked over to see Flag being dragged away by a couple of those things.

"They're after Flag again," Deadshot informed us as he shot another being away from me. Boomerang and I bolted over, fighting our way through as Flag was trying to get himself free.

"Get off of me," He growled at his kidnappers. Croc grabbed one of those thinks from behind him, cracking his neck as I went to one side and shot down a few more that were in the way and the rest of us were getting around him as a protective circle.

"Circle up! Circle around him!" Deadshot ordered us, having me take on one side near Harley and Croc. I threw out my wings to use the force of the wings to knock a few of those beings out of the way in time for me to shoot them.

"Let me fight!" Flag said as he had his weapon out too.

"If you die, we die," Deadshot reminded him as we were staying close to him and last ones of those beings fell from the assault. Once again, I looked over at Chato, seeing him on the sidelines and not helping at all, not fighting one bit there as we looked eyes. I looked at him with a hard look, asking with my stare that he would help us.

But he didn't move.

"Clear! Everyone move out!" Flag instructed, in which we were moving out of the room now with a pep in our step. I moved past them now, not slowing down there as we got out back onto the balcony wrapping around in the floor there. We still keeping our guard up, hearing more gunshots at us now and we panicked. Some of us moved to the edge of the wall trying to shoot back since those things were on two floors. They had firepower behind their hands, guns and machine guns too as they were firing at us rapidly.

Boomerang hit the floor and one of the SEAL's was hit, falling to the floor as well as Deadshot was using his wrist gun. I was trying to shoot with my pistols as he then looked back at Chato, who was plastered against the wall and not doing anything once again. Deadshot shoved him roughly now. He threw off his mask there to look at him directly in the eye and be close to his face, which I was shooting for the both of them as a blocked.

"Where you been, homie?"

"This ain't my fight!" Chato yelled back at him.

"You know what? You don't stand for shit, ain't worth shit!" Deadshot said in almost a scolding as I looked back at him now to see Deadshot about to rip his head off as he shoved him back. Shit, he didn't do what I thought he did, did he?"

"Don't touch me, man!" Chato growled.

"Don't touch you? What are you gonna do?" Deadshot was pushing it with him, and I was so close to telling him back off and to leave him since now was not the time for this. He kept tapping him over and over now, all over his body and head.

"Knock it off!" I scolded Deadshot as he was still doing his assault on Chato. I knew Chato, and I knew of his temper when we were younger, so I would think that it didn't lessen.

"I'm touching you! I'm touching you!" he said it over and over there as I felt one of that bullet hit my skin there. Sure I could take a few licking from a bullet, the feelings hit me extra hard but show no real damage was done to me. I could feel them hit me, but nothing was hurting me to the point where I was going to be damaged for good.

"You wanna see something?! You wanna see something?!

"Yes, I wanna see something!" I rolled my eyes once more since their banter was still going on. I finally looked over my shoulder at the both of them, whom both looked like they were about to each other's face off.

"For Christ's sake!" I boomed at the both of them, then feeling a bullet pierce through one of my wings near the back and I screamed out. The both of them looked at me now, seeing that I almost doubled over since the bullet hit the bone near the top. I fell to the floor, not noticing Chato was shoving Deadshot to the side and then throwing out his hands in front of him. Flames and flames of fire were spewing out, launching at the beings there along the two levels. I could feel the heating coming through the area, having people move out of the way from the force and watching in awe as he was lighting each and every single of those things on fire. I was still in pain, reaching behind me to touch my back where my wing was and feeling some of the blood there that was sticky and hot against my feather. Boomerang saw me, crawling over to where I was with a boomerang in his hand and he saw me.

"You're hurt!" He said over the sound of fire, but I shook my head.

"It's fine!" I replied, hearing the roar of the fire dying down and we both looked up at the sight. The two levels in front of us were in flames, nothing else was moving there and showing any kind life. It was a sight to see, all from Chato, who was trying to calm himself down. I knew then that he was afraid of this, to show his ability. He was petrified when he was a child and he showed me for the first time since he didn't think it was a gift but a curse. I saw it there again on his face, the look of remorse and regret for using it. But I never saw that in him.

I saw the lost soul that needed reassurance.

"I was just trying to get you there. Phil Jackson, we cool right?" Was all Deadshot could say to him as Harley rushed over to kiss him on the cheek.

"I knew you would come through," He said to him before he moved away. I tried to push myself up from the ground, avoiding the glass there as I squinted in pain. Boomerang helped me up, moving his fineries away from not touching my damaged wing.

"You got it?" Boomerang asked him as we both got up completely now. I nodded at him as I looked at Chato again, seeing him watch me, almost looking concerned there was blood there along with my wing.

"I'm good," I replied to Boomerang, whom nodded and relaxed me slightly now as I gave Chato a reassuring look. I knew that I wasn't indestructible, but I knew that I was no dainty person. Not anymore. I could take a wound, but I couldn't take that look from Chato himself. He looked hurt, agitated and almost beaten up because I was beaten up and hurt. I walked away, not wanting to see the pain on his face anymore as Deadshot said one more sentence that pretty much summed up the whole situation.

"That shit crazy."


	8. Chapter 8

Age 9

"I have to tell you something. It's a secret." I looked at Chato in concern as he said this to me. We both were meeting at the diner that he took me to once or twice. But this time, apparently he wanted to show me something that he hasn't shown anyone else, ever. We were over in the corner booth, which was his favorite and he looked nervous, beyond nervous.

"What is it?" I asked him as he took a sip from his chocolate milkshake. There was barely anyone else there in the diner since it was a slow afternoon, yet Chato was acting like we were swamped in there with people.

"You can't tell anyone anything, at all. Swear?" He asked me, looking at me dead in the eyes now. I was sitting on the other side of the table and I took another sip from my own shake. Slowly I nodded my head at him, though he still didn't look convinced at me. He then held out his hand for me to shake like we were making a promise to one another.

"Promise?" He asked me, in which I shook it without hesitation. I knew that I wasn't going to say anything about it since he was one of the true friends that I had. I knew it was not kind to break a promise, and he was already a nice enough friend to me.

"I promise," I replied, shaking his hand and he then pulled his hand away. In fact, he placed his hand there on top of the table, palm up, and I was thinking that he was going to do something. Suddenly, out of nowhere and without anything near his hand, I saw a small spark of a flame there on top of his hand. It was dancing and almost swaying there, and between us, I almost lost my own words.

What happened?

"I can make fire," He said to me, closing his hand and the fire going away there along the top of his skin. I saw it go away, but as he moved his hand back out and his fingers unraveled, the fire was back there in the middle of his hand. I looked around for a quick second, thinking somebody was going to see. But no one was paying attention then, they were going about their own businesses and not seeing the boy across from me that was making fire there and having it seem like it was some kind of magic trick.

"How did you do that?" I asked him in a hiss as he was looking at me, then down at the fire there within his palm.

"I don't know. It just happens," he admitted to me as I watched him. He looked scared not that he was grateful for being able to do something like this. He was afraid of this, and as the fire dimmed out there in his hand, I watched him take in a shaky breath.

"I think I'm cursed," He said to me, in which I gave him confused look.

"What do you mean cursed?" I asked.

"You know….God or someone up there hates me and cursed me to do somethin' like this. At least that's what my Abuela told my mom," Chato explained as he moved his spoon around on the top of the table. I shifted there, not being able to think about what I wanted to tell him.

"Well, I think it's cool," I explained, seeing him now look up at me from looking down at his spoon. He looked skeptical from my thoughts to him.

"Really?" He asked, not convinced.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not every day you get to spew out fire from your fingers," I reasoned with him, shrugging my shoulders and thinking that it was wrong for him to think that he was cursed. That seemed silly, no one should think they're cursed. I never heard about someone thinking that they were cursed, and since we never went to church a whole lot I wasn't thinking of that kind of a thing to be normal.

"You don't think I'm cursed?" He asked tentatively, probably thinking that this was a joke and I was pulling at it.

"I don't think so. You don't look cursed…" I said to him, looking at him all over now as he shifted there and looked like he was trying to puff himself out since I was looking at him.

"I don't?" He asked, looking at himself and what he was wearing, He had a regular hoodie over a graphic t-shirt and sneakers. He looked like a normal person to me.

"Not to me you don't. Then again I don't know what a cursed person looks like," I admitted, seeing him look back down at his hand, looking less concerned and more optimistic since I told him that. I didn't want my friend to feel bad about himself since he could do something cool with his fingers and hands.

"I get it if you don't want to be my friend anymore," He said to me in almost a low manner.

"Why wouldn't I be your friend?" I questioned.

"Because of what I can do. You don't want a friend like me," He said to me, which made me and since he was making himself sound so pathetic as a friend. I wanted him to feel good about himself, and not being himself down because of it.

"Well, since you're not my mom or dad, you can't stop me from being your friend, and I want to be your friend because you're nice to me and you're funny," I explained to him, seeing him slowly look at me again now and I gave him a hard stare. It didn't make sense that he wouldn't want me to be his friend anymore, and I didn't want to stop being his friend. Sure he would kale fire, but he was still the small boy that I met who was running from the cops with a big grin on his face.

"I still wanna be friends with you, okay?" I asked him, hoping that it would get through his thick head that I wasn't wanting to go anywhere away from him. He grinned at me, that big smile there on his face, letting me know that he thought about it and was fine with it.

"Okay," He replied, in which I grinned at him too while he grabbed his spoon and pointed to his milkshake there in front of him, "Wanna see who'll get a brain freeze first?"

"Oh, you know I'm a champ at that!"

* * *

Mid-Way City

Present Day

"Jesus that looks nasty," Deadshot said to me as he passed me while we were going up the stairs that were ascending up to another floor. I was still trying to get through each step that we were taking and breathe out of my nose as I was doing this since my wing was still wounded and some of the blood was getting on my vest there from coming down. I didn't want to look weak in front of the others, but I knew I had to make this wing heal up quickly before I could do anything else.

"I need to work on my cardio," Harley said in a huff as I was behind her, walking through each step going up and I finally had to stop for a second. Chato was behind me, stopping too as he watched me breathe out another small amount of pain for a few seconds.

"Marley, you good?" He asked me as he walked over to stand next to me, Harley above the both of us looking back over at me, stopping and walking down to be close in case I needed some kind of help. I never thought I would be able to get help from someone like Harley Quinn.

"I need…I need to fix this," I said to him in a huff as I pointed to my wound.

"You look pale, darlin'." She said to me as I reached up and touched the tender spot behind me along the wing and where the bone of the wing was. It was beyond fragile and tender. The hot and sticky blood seeping onto my skin there as I closed my eyes and breathed out through my nose. I knew that I would have to heal myself and it was going to take plenty of energy on my own account and from others if it was needed.

"What are ya doin'?" Chato asked me as I was feeling the tingling sensation coming over my wing there and my eyes shot open, though they were veiled over. IT might have looked like I went blind, a white film over both of my eyes as I was doing this. It was a process that Angels did when they were healing themselves or theirs. The energy within us, with the big portion of Grace that was needed, would take a toll on ourselves when we were pushing the energy and Grace on the wound. It was an almost dull feeling process, taking years of practice to perfect the notion of healing another person. To heal a human was minor on the body, but to heal yourself or other Angels would take more and the toll was more serious.

"Holy shit," Harley said as she was watching me with wide eyes, Chato staying close and almost waving a hand in front of me, "She possessed!"

"What the hell?" He asked, seeing that I looked out of it now as I was still healing my wing there. The feeling of healing was more like the wound was being dipped into warm and soothing sap, or wax at the same time. It felt like what I had myself was not going to be enough to heal it all the way through and I needed something else, or someone else to get me through.

"Can she hear us?" Harley asked I was still healing myself and channeling it on my own. Chato was still waving his hand there in front of me when I reached up and grasped his hand. I thought he was going to pull away since his hand was feeling ring against me, but I laced our fingers together with my eyes were still veiled over and my healing was not intensified and flowing more freely than it did before.

I didn't know if it was because I was winded from the fight, or that I felt more distant in my own life as an Angel, but now with the aura of Chato and our physical contact with one another, it made the healing proceedings go more smoothly. Maybe it was our connection with one another, or how close we were with one another compared to others in the past, but I never had this kind of healing process with another person before. It was as if he was meant to be there to help me heal, to get me through it with ease and without blemish.

Within a minute, I was back to normal.

My eyes were no longer glossed over, I took in another breath as I was feeling the strength come back to me now and I was looking at both Harley and Chato there in front of me. Although I was still clutched against the stairs with one arm and my other hand was clutching onto Chato's hand tightly, I was feeling more normal than ever.

"So….that just happened," Harley said with a small smirk there, almost nervously as I looked over at Chato, seeing him more concern about what he just saw and down at our joined hands. Did he feel what I felt? Did I freak him out?

"What was that?" He asked me as he helped me get up from my spot crouching down. I rolled my shoulders, feeling my wings going back within my back again and the weight of y wing were no longer there. I felt normal at least now, better than ever, and it might have been from him.

"I can heal myself and others if I could," I explained briefly with them.

"Kind of like magic, huh?" Harley asked.

"More like Grace," I said to her, seeing her look at me in confusion now since she didn't know what I meant, "It's a religious thing."

"Ahh…yeah that's not my department," She said in a snort now as she then gave me a small genuine smile, "But good thing you're okay." I smiled back at her, a first for me to do with someone like Harley since it felt like I shouldn't be smiling at her. We couldn't be friends in some kind of life from what we have done and who we were, and yet here we were smiling at each other like we've known each other for years.

"Thanks," I replied, seeing her walk away from us now a few more steps. I walked with Chato next to me, going up the stairs and passing Harley now since she was stopping and looking over the railing at the levels below us.

"What did you mean by Grace?" He asked me in a low tone as we were still walking together.

"Grace is what we receive from God, though we don't deserve it, right?" I asked him, seeing him nod his head since he got what I was saying, "When I heal myself, I need to have that Grace because it takes more for us to heal."

"Grace from God?" He asked me, trying to keep up with the philosophy.

"Somewhat," I answered, "I can heal other people just fine. But healing another Angel takes a bit more, more energy and more of a pure….aura really…to get us through the process. Almost like a pure soul from another person that can help us heal our own." I looked over at him now, seeing him think to himself once again s we were climbing some more steps and getting higher up to where we were imaging for. The others in the group were up a couple more flights than we were, which was enough for the both of us to talk in normal voices since they weren't going to be listening in.

"I felt somethin' when you held my hand," He explained to me, keeping his head low there and sounding amazed by it than scared, "It felt like something was being seeped inside…almost like drugs."

"That was my Grace," I explained to him, watching him look at me in confusion as I said it, "Your goodness within you helped me heal faster, and your heart did too. You have a good enough heart to get em healed,"

"You think I have a good heart?" He asked me, almost like he wasn't convinced enough because of it.

"I don't think you do," I reminded him, "I know you do. And apparently, my Angel sense was tingling and that meant you do." He almost chuckled from the humor that I gave him, but I could still see him think about it in his own head.

"You still think of me as a good person," He stated, now I looked over at him too now as I tilted my head.

"You don't think you are?" I asked Chato. It felt like we were children and we had the same conversation over milkshakes. I remember that talk with him and it scared me that he was thinking that same thing about himself now as a grown adult.

"I'm a monster, Marley. What I did….it makes me a monster," he said to me, not saying it but was trying to avoid saying it, talking about his old life. I didn't want it to come out too, now was not the time for something like that since we were still on a mission with bombs in our necks that could go off at any time.

We needed to talk about it, but not now.

* * *

We made it to the one floor that we were targeting, opening the door and noticing that we were in what seemed to be a lobby of sorts with turned over couches and chairs, along with some papers flown about on the floor and debris. It already looked flushed out, os many water bottles that looked unopened from the packaging and dollies there on the side of the room as soon as we walked in. A wide window on the opposite wall with a clear view of fire lighting up some of the levels across the way.

"All right, secure the roof. Sweep for shooters so we can bring in our aviation assets. " Flag told Edwards, who took some of the men with him over to the door again that we just came through. Deadshot and Harley were going to walk over to Flag and escort him, but he threw out his hand for them to stop, "Wait here. I don't wanna give this dude a heart attack, okay?"

"Aww, he's embarrassed of us," Harley said in a mocking way with her light tone, having me look from Flag over to her now.

"Hey, Flag, this dude better cure cancer after all this shit." Flag advised him, Flag nodding at him before he tapped on the security pad next to the wall. He went inside without another word to us. Leaving the Suicide Squad in there and alone. Katana was guarding the door there, in case any of us had a bright idea to barge in there. But none of us were planning on it: Boomerang sat on top of the arm of a chair, Croc across from him in a chair himself, Harley was walking around with her bat once again over her shoulders, and Chato parked himself on one of the storage boxes against the wall. I was standing there, not wanting to sit down myself.

"Too bad there's no liquor in here," Boomerang said to break the tension, "A drink sounds nice."

"I bet you they have a cheap kind here," Harley said in agreement as she was walking back and forth at a pace that even made me feel anxious. I walked over to sit next to Chato finally, the both of us saying nothing for a moment or two and letting the quietness sink in. I was looking at each of them there, wondering in my head as to how they came to being a villain in the first place. With Harley, it was all about The Joker and how apparently she was in love with him, almost in a sick kind of way. With Croc, he was born in that appearance and that made him a villain, whether he was ready for it or not. As for Boomerang, who knew since it felt like he just chose to be a bad person from the start. But the last, of course, the man who was sitting next to me and who I felt deserved way better than what was given to me. If only I stuck around, and things would have been different for him.

If only.

Finally, after few minutes of us just sitting there and finding some time to be at peace with having rest, the door behind Katana opened. I was thinking to myself, not looking up when Flag and Deadshot came through the door. But the next person that came right behind them made us all look and stay quiet.

Amanda Waller.

Chato got up first with me next to him, staying close as Harley was saying the one thing on all of our minds there as we watched.

"No Way."

I could hear Croc growl as he got up from the chair, Boomerang looking like he wanted to kill her with his bare hands and we started to walk over to her, almost circling her but staying at a distance. Were we coming for her? Why was she the one that we were traveling to retrieve? What was going on here? I took a step back to where Deadshot was as the others were watching her with death glares.

"Let's go home," Flag to us calmly,

"Yeah. Let's go home," Boomerang said in a light agreement, making both Deadshot and I look over at him, "That sounds good. You guys wanna go home? HHmm? Or you wanna go back to prison?" I could see Amanda watching him now with a small flicker of fear in her eyes and on her face. I could feel it too from her aura, she was almost afraid of them. Keyword: almost.

"I'm not going back to prison." Harley reminded Boomerang in her own low manner.

"What I'm saying is, we kill the pair of 'em now before they kill us," Boomerang explained as he once again glared at Amanda like he was killing her with his eyes. Katana grasped her sword on her hip quickly and was about to pull it out, but she was stopped by Amanda herself.

"I got this," Amanda whispered to her and Katana retreated her sword again. Amanda looked at all of us, each in the eyes as we were starting at her back, "Y'all made it this far. Don't get high-spirited on me and ruin a good thing." She held up a phone in her hand, her thumb was so close to pressing the surface as I saw our pictures there on the top.

Our mugshots. She had the device for our bombs.

That dropped the mood there, the group realizing that once again they had no choice in the matter of fighting this with Amanda and being able to go free. I felt it too, the feeling of defeat and no hope there as they were all quiet again. She finally walked on, almost saving Croc to the side with her shoulder as Flag and Katana walked being her obediently. Croc growled next to Harley.

"I like her."

* * *

We made it to the roof, hearing the helicopter that was going to take Amanda Waller out of the city was coming in slowly and hovering in front of us. The city was cooling down into the night with the small sign of rain coming our way, I could feel it in the air and hear the low rumblings of thunder off in the distance while we were watching the helicopter coming in.

"Savior one-zero, This is Ground Element. Savior one zero, you copy?" Edwards was talking in his com as I was watching in silence the helicopter, along with the rest of the group. I was standing off to myself now, not hearing Amanda walking over to talk to me but I could sense her coming now as she was looking at the helicopter too, the stern look and stance returned back to her.

"You know, I never thought I would have someone like you working for me….and live," She explained to me, now having me look over at her now.

"You thought I was going to die during this mission?" I asked her then, hearing nothing at first from her. It seemed off to think that she would have the assumption that I would die when she was the one that tried me to work for her Task Force X.

"I thought it would make me look good to have an Angel here on my team, never giving it much thought that they would spare you for this long," She answered, in which I was lost as to who she was talking about. But I looked ahead of me, over to where Deadshot and Flag were staring at each other, then shooting me gaze to Harley and then Croc. I knew then: she thought I was going to be killed by them since I wasn't a villain. She never had the real amount of faith, only the thought of it looking good on her resume to have a good natured and selfless Angel here on her Squad. She could have known Jacob wanted me there in the first place, but that was doubtful. No, she wanted to look good.

I was used.

"Boss, they're not talking to me," We both looked at the helicopter now as Edwards said this to Flag, who took a defensive stance there with his gun in his hands. Something was off, I could sense it there as Flag now spoke it into reality.

"Our bird's been jacked. Light it up!"

Within two seconds, a rapid machine gun from the back of the helicopter was soaring through the rooftop, killing at least one of the SEAL's as we were diving to get somewhere out of sight and out of range from the gunfire. It sounded so loud and booming as I moved to get behind one of the larger pipes that were big enough for me to lay down on my stomach.

Someone was laughing, a mechanical laugh that was both chilling and sinister at the same time as we were all hiding from the gunfire. I was looking around to see if anyone was hurt. But so far, after losing another SEAL, we were okay.

But something else was happening too, someone was moving out of hiding and I looked over to see who it was. Harley Quinn, looking at the helicopter like it was her savior as she was walking over to it. I peered up briefly, in time to see a rope dangling from the opening in the back of the helicopter and none other than The Joker himself was standing there in the opening, looking down at Harley. I could only see it from afar with his bright green hair, but his eyes were on her as she was walking closer and closer now.

"Kill her!" Amanda command Flag, who was touching his hope screen but nothing was happening.

"Her nanite's disarmed," Flag yelled back at her now as he was trying again and again now. She was going to make a break for it. I looked at Harley again, seeing her strip off her jacket and make a bolting run for the edge of the roof. She launched herself off, flying in the air before catching the rope and the helicopter starting to fly off.

I slowly got up when the gunfire was done, the silence was heard except for the helicopter blades and Harley giggling from her spot on the rope. I moved to the rest of the group, over to where Chato was and seeing him watch Harley float away like she was on a cloud.

"Deadshot, shoot that woman right now!" Amanda ordered him as she walked to him now with venom in her eyes.

"She ain't do shit to me." Deadshot reminded her calmly as they were toe to toe with one another.

"You're a hitman, right? I got a contract. Kill Harley Quinn. Do it for your freedom and your kid." Amanda said to him now with a serious look. She really wanted Harley dead, the rest of us were quiet from what he head as he was given this.

"Now she dead," he replied smoothly, moving over to a spot where he could position his gun on top of one of the air conditioning units. He was looking through the scope, and all I could do was watch this in slow motion and not do a thing since there was nothing more that I could do myself. Even Katana looked down as she stood next to Boomerang, who was looking agitated once again. None of us said a word, watching as he was about to kill one of us from the Squad because of Amanda. This time, instead of feeling the hate from the others, I was feeling it myself. I closed my eyes then, looking down I was not going to want to see this. For some reason, int hat moment, I prayed. I prayed that she would be spared since she has done nothing to me. If she was to die, it was not going to be this way.

The gun went off with one shot.

I heard nothing, thinking that it was the worst and that she fell to the ground there from the rope she was on. Chato tapped my shoulder lightly, having me slowly look up to see what he was seeing. She was limp like a doll there on the rope, still attached and hanging. We were stunned, watching there and wondering what was going to come of this next. Was it a sense of loss that we were feeling since she worked for us for this long and stayed until this point? Why were we feeling this, why as I feeling this?

But then, out of the clear blue, she popped her head up and giggled with a wave of her hand and fingers. He missed, watching him pop his head up from the scope there on his gun and then walking over to Amanda.

"I missed," he informed her, almost sounding proud of himself to miss as he then walked on. I could see the sense of relief from the others there, Boomerang nodding his head there.

"Good one, mate," He said to Deadshot. I wanted to tell Deadshot that what he did was the right thing, but the look on his face told me that it wasn't the time. I looked over at Deadshot as he kept walking, hearing Waller talking into her massive walkie talkie.

"It's Waller. Savior One-zero's been hijacked. Shoot it down."


	9. Chapter 9

San Francisco

Castro Street

Age 23

The one thing that I realized once I got my wings, was that Angels were not invincible.

There was the good sense that I could do plenty with my new life since my skin was like armor and my wings could take me over miles and miles within minutes. All of it was too good to be true, but there also had to be limits to it. Jacob wanted me that even Angels could be killed, but that was beyond are for those who were real Angels.

Fallen Angels, like me, were more liable to be killed and more mortal. And one way is for another Fallen Angel to kill them.

I saw this firsthand as I was still with Jacob, almost staying under his wing and learning about my new life that I was going to be in. He didn't want me to always think of the positive and to think that I was some kind of God, almost to bring me back to reality as we were walking over to what seemed to be was a crime scene. Jacob looked mortal, his own wings back within himself like my own were too. The pair of us were quiet as we were crossing the street in a semi-rainy day in San Francisco. It was her Castro street, and there were plenty of police cars around the scene and caution tape up to block the viewers there that were wanting to see the body.

"You want me to see a dead body?" I asked him now as I was walking next to him, seeing him stare dead ahead and something serious was in his eye.

"I want you to see the mortal side of the life I gave you," He reminded me, in which I fell silent from how he said it. We approached the caution tape, seeing one of the policemen walking over to where we were standing. I could see he was almost around my age: clean shaven in the face and youth there within his eyes and cheeks. As soon as I locked eyes with him, I that that tingling feeling that went up and down my spine, a shock wave that was almost like a warning there. He was a Fallen Angel like me.

"How did it happen?" Jacob asked him now as the young man looked at him with a tilt of his head. He then touched his thumb to his forehead, making the mark of The Cross. It was ASL for Anoint, a sign of respect we would give in front of another Angel that was holier than us.

"They attacked each other out here on the street, you can see most of the residue here," He explained, looking back then and pointing on the floor there along the street surface. I looked, moving away from Jacob there as he watched in silence as I could see some things were splattered on the ground. At first, I assumed that it would be blood. But then, I looked again now and I saw that there was something there etched there on the ground, almost looking like the design was made from chalk. It looked me another look or two there as it hit me in the gut.

They were wings. Actual wings there etched on the floor in a dark color that could be blood.

"He was 25 years old, a native from here," The officer explained to Jacob some more as they were talking under their breaths even with me being able to hear it from my own area as I was watching the design there with my own eyes. Was this how we die? A print there of our wings when we finally die with this almost indestructible life was a bit too real for me to digest and be fine with.

"The one who killed him left before I could track him," The officer added as I finally looked back at the both of them. Jacob thought about it in his head before he looked over at me. This was what he wanted me to see, what it was like to see a Fallen Angel already losing their wings behind as they passed on. This was a sign for me to remember, and as a warning.

Remember that you're not a God.

* * *

Present Day

Mid-Way City

"Target destroyed, ma'am."

"Thank you, Now get me off this roof. The Joker and Harley Quinn are no more."

"You couldn't have saved her," Boomerang echoed what the others were thinking, at least what I was thinking in that moment as I looked at the open sky

"Are you insane?" I asked her now as she lowered her walkie talkie and looked over at me. No one else moved there on the rooftop as I said what was on my mind. It wasn't right in my own head, that Harley was going to die at the hands of this women merely because she wasn't playing by her rules. She did nothing to any of us, and yet she was the one who was going to be shot down and Amanda Waller who was not going to lose any kind of sleep from it.

"She did nothing to do and yet you're going to murder her," I warned Amanda now as I walked over to stand in front of her face. She didn't look too pleased that I was saying this to her, that I was in her face and calling her out for basically being a murdered. It didn't matter that the others were watching my talk to her now and they were staying so still to see her reaction.

"She was disobeying orders," Amanda explained to me.

"Which means that you get to kill her?" I asked her coolly. She turned to face me completely, almost like she hated the fact that I called her out for being a murderer in general and that rubbed her the wrong way.

"Don't try and overstep yourself with me because you're an Angel, Kelso," She warned me in a low tone now as I eyed her, trying to read behind her eyes and see that there was a small part of her that was intimidated by me, almost afraid if I was feeling it right there within me.

"You don't anything about me and my kind," I argued, seeing her give me a small smirk there like she caught me within his argument.

"I read up about you and your kind, thinking you're higher than us and mightier than the common people," She tried to stain my own life and what I was. I eyed her there, not saying a word since I knew she was trying to make it cut deep. No wondered no one moved then, they were hearing what Amanda was trying to do to me.

"What your read about me was only half of what we truly do, so you basically know nothing at all about Fallen Angels," I explained to her in a calm yet bitter way since I was still heated from what she did to Harley, "What we are capable of doing makes all of your military guns and missiles look like mere children toys," She glared at met then, not longer having the upper hand with this whole talk of a threat. I knew she was frozen, having me sense the anger in her triggered and heightened since I basically threatened her.

"You're a murderer, whether you want to admit it or not, and I do hope to God that you won't find any other Angels to help you when they sense what I sense in you," I moved away from her, having nothing else to really throw at her since it was the truth. The helicopter getting Amanda was coming with a thunderous boom and it was getting louder. I could see the others there, watching me move at a brisk pace and I heard the rolling thunder coming though and a few drop about to fall down carelessly from the sky.

I was fuming on how things were being played there, how I was still needing to be there for these popes who had no heart and no real sense of being a human being. But now it felt like the roles were being changed. Amanda was no longer seen as someone whom I could trust with a group of villains, she was becoming the vilian with how much power she had in her hands and how she was wielding that power. Now it was the others that were no longer seen as villains, but as people who had more to offer than what was given to them in the beginning.

This was whacked out of proportion.

"You got balls," Deadshot said to me as I walked past him and the helicopter was arriving to land on top of the roof. I eyed him, taking my own hesitance from sneering him since it felt like I need a second to get my head straight. I looked past him to see the helicopter landing on the rooftop and the others were walking over to send Amanda off.

"Yeah well, she's been rubbing me the wrong way since the beginning," I explained roughly to him under my breath since we were too close to talk regularly.

"You're not the only one who's bugged by her," He reassured, in which I eyed him carefully as he watched her going into the helicopter.

"Stand by. I'll send another helo!" She told Flag over the sound of the swishing blades while she was inside the vehicle. The door closed and before we could react, she has been swooped away and was out of sight. One minute she as there and she was giving me the look of death, the next minute she was gone and leaving us to our own devices.

"What does that mean?" I asked Deadshot since his last remark to me. He rolled his own shoulders as he eyed me again, his eyes showing the truth there and nothing more or less.

"Because I saw her kill some of her employees with a handgun. Who knows what she'll do to us if she's pissed off," He wanted me, having my eyes go a bit wide from how he said it. The others walked over to the pair of us, almost like we were in a huddle and the SEAL's there in the front near the edge of the roof.

"Way to lay it on thick," Boomerang said to me, not in a cocky way like he would before, but in an agreeing manner as I eyed him next to Deadshot, "Didn't like the lady from the start but seem to know how to hit her hard."

"It wasn't my intention. But I was never known to be quiet," I murmured to him. Chato moved over to stand next to me as he heard me say that, a somber look on his face as eh slowly reached down to hold my hand, out of sight from the others but close enough for me to feel the warmth there in his hand.

"I like your style, Angel," Croc said in a compliment to me, the others smirking as he said that. I could even see Katana nodding her head once at me maybe as a sign of approval as Chato squeezed his hand in my own. It was their way of approving me, in a weird way of letting em into their own world and how they liked me. It was an odd feeling to get within me, a sense of peace and happiness from a group of villains and oddballs.

"You're the only Angel I've ever met, and you happen to not be what I expected," Deadshot complimented, in which I had to smile at him. For a brief moment, even after tearing in a new one for Amanda and letting the others see a side of me that I wished I would never people, I felt good. Real, good in fact.

"Ops just confirmed. She's down. 1k west," WE all looked over to hear Flag informed the other SEAL's that were with him. Seeing him look down for a moment and then walk over to the group of us. He went right over to Deadshot when we all moved away a bit from each other to give him room.

"The mission's not over." Flag informed him.

"Nah. It is for me. We had a deal." Deadshot said as remind now.

"Without Waller, you got nothing," Flag replied shortly before he moved on. The mood was no longer light, the rest of us looking bitter about it as we were standing there, not knowing what else to do in that moment. We were squashing and being pulled in a direction that we didn't want.

Great. Just Great.

* * *

Going back down to the ground floor using the elevator. I didn't want to say anything else since there was no point. But I kept thinking of the past and how I made it there, how I wasn't dead either by the others in the elevator with me or Amanda herself. There was a real reason why I was there, but it was still feeling vague and almost blurry. Where was Jacob when I needed him?

Of course, when we were going down the floors and back to the ground, I was holding Chato's hand almost like a lifeline since it felt like nothing else was going to keep me grounded. He stayed close, not saying anything to me but he could tell. He could read my face and how I would stay quiet, and the same was for me with at him. It must have been that because of how long we have known each other, reading the body language and just watching each other without saying a single word.

Once we made it outside, it was raining there within the city, the cool crispness of the air was hitting us hard as I felt the rain touching my skin and my hair. It was calling em down already from the heated conversation with Amanda. SO the rain might have been the blessing that I got from Jacob after all.

I shivered a bit there as we were moving out, though now something was in front of me that threw me off guard. I saw someone perched on top of an abandoned cop car with a grin plastered to her face and her hair plastered to her skin from the rain.

Harley Quinn.

"Hey, guys! I'm back! I've missed you all so much!" She said to us as she struck a pose there on top of the car. We walked to her her, having me feel beyond relieved that she was still alive. IF she was even going to die, it was not going to be like that. Even when she was still considered as someone whom I could not trust. I smiled at her.

"We're glad you can make it," Deadshot said to her as the were locking eyes with one another. I smiled widely, seeing that she was okay and nothing serious was there that should be addressed. I saw a few scrapes here and there, but she looked fine. However, I felt something within her that felt like heartbreak. Was it The Joker? It had to have been if she was alone again there in the rain.

Deadshot helped her down from the cop car and she landed back on her feet. I could hear Boomerang talk to her as he tossed her the wooden bat that she used in the past. Harley then grinned at both Croc and Chato, who grinned back at her and then she landed her eyes on me. I wondered if she was going to smile at me now since we barely knew each other. But she did, and I smiled to return the gesture.

Chato released my hand, walking in front of me with Croc there next to him and I was left there in the back next toHarley, the both of us walking together almost in silence for a few seconds and then she spoke up, breaking the silence within each other and over the rainfall.

"So, you and flame boy are a thing apparently." She stated to me, swing her bat to the side now as she walked with confidence back in her step. I could see the makeup was seeping down her face slightly from the rain, either that or tears.

"I wouldn't call it a thing," I stated back, seeing him watch me with a raised eyebrow.

"Well you two are way in love with each other, it's too cute. How long have you known the guy?" He asked, having me think about it with what she told me. It was odd to think that we were in love with one another when our past without each other was tainted and almost distant. She didn't know what happened with us, and I doubted that she would really want to know.

"Since I was 8 years old," I replied, seeing him grin wickedly now.

"And you've been in love with him that whole time?" She asked, trying to bring it up again as I looked over at him.

"I'm not in love with him," I tried to rebuke her, but she shook her head.

"As a psychiatrist and someone who knows what love is…you have it, and you have it bad," She explained, having me go quiet and have that sink under my skin. Was I in love? Even while we were fighting these beings and taking the orders of some kind of power hungry politician who really had no real sense of a heart. This was not the best place to really think this feeling, but then again it could be. Who knew if we were going to survive anything else that could be trying to kill us, and if we were going to be leaving things to chance, I didn't want that chance.

"Besides, he's in love with you too," Harley reminded me, in which I could have sworn I felt a twinge of blush coming on over my cheeks there as she mentioned it.

* * *

"So let me guess, we're going to the swirling ring of trash in the sky. You know, cause why wouldn't we?"

We were standing there the now abandoned and damaged helicopter that I saw Amanda getting into sometime before safe and sound. Now, there was no sign of Amanda, or any life at all as the rain was pouring at this point. I was trying to stay warm with my arms around myself and looked at Deadshot talking to Flag. But as he mentioned the trash in the sky, I had to look over in the area since we were getting closer and closer to the area. The sound itself of the force that was going into the sky was almost too unreal to me since I've never heard it before and it scared me. Now I had no idea what we were going to be up against.

"When does this end Flag?" Deadshot asked.

"Load up, we're in for a fight," Flag answered as he moved on, the rest of us staying still for a moment. Deadshot really wanted to shoot him, I could really see it there as I walked over to Chato and wanted to see where he was with this whole thing.

"What do you think?" I asked him as we walked together behind Flag, still chugging along in the rain.

"Sounds weird to me, since I don't know what we're up against," He explained, then looking at me, "What about you?"

"I don't like it," I admitted, "Feels like we're signed to go up against something that's going to get us killed."

"Makes sense why we're here then huh?" He asked almost like he was dry humor. I nodded in agreement, not having an argument with him finally and having the sense of warmth there between us again. I felt like old times when we would walk out in LA together after school, talking about the day and what we were going to do the next time we were going to go out. All both one memories were coming back, myself laughing at one of his jokes and seeing him grin at me when I would point out something with him. I loved those times when we were kids and even when we were older, and it felt like we were having another memory there together after being away from one another for so long.

"If we get out of this, which could be very unlikely, would you be willing to start over..back to how we were before all of this shit happened?" He asked me, tentatively now as we were walking in sync. He was asking it like he was afraid to ask me such a thing, and I looked over at him. After what I knew what happened to him and how he suffered because of what he had done with his ability, he wanted to start over with me? Even after he lost Grace and how two children, even after considering himself a monster and a bad guy, there was that small flicker of hope there within him.

"You want that with me, after me leaving you?" I asked him, not wanting to sound shocked but it came out that way. He looked ahead now, a serious look on his face there as the next thing that came out of his mouth moved me from the inside out.

"I lost you once, and I don't wanna lose you again."

That's when I knew that I was supposed to be there, to bring us back to the same spot that we had before that was so good and so pure. I loved those moments there together, and he wanted it again and he wasn't going to want it different than it was before. Jacob sent me there to be with him and for him to have that sense of life again within himself. But he also sent me there to not only protect and help the group there but to have myself be different and feel more accomplished as a Fallen Angel. He wanted me to thrive and to be used in the best way that I could.

There was more to this than I thought before.

Deadshot walked past me, almost brushing me to the side now as he was walking in a brisk manner and there was something in his hand there. I looked to see, almost wanting to call out to him and stop him before he threw out what seemed to be a binder there past us and past Flag hitting the car there in front of Flag and stopping all of us from walking. The papers there in the binders spewed out onto the floor. We all stopped, Flag looking down at the binder first before he looked at Deadshot. Deadshot pointed a finger at him now, a death glare was on his face.

"You tell everybody, everything, or me and you gonna go right now."


	10. Chapter 10

LA

6 Years Ago

I snapped awake from another dream that I had, a dream from way back in my past that I thought I was going to forget and not remember anymore. But it was a plague, always coming back to haunt me over and over again as if it was nagging me that I made the wrong choice. Did I make the wrong choice? No, I made the right one, but my mind was playing tricks on me

"Wake up, "

I looked over from where I bed was, seeing none other than Jacob there in the corner as he would always be. He was sitting at my desk, not saying a word now as I sighed and rolled out of bed, looking at the alarm clock there on my nightstand. 5:50 pm

"Jacob, I was sleeping," I reminded him as I threw my hair up in a messy bun and grabbed a hoodie to throw up, feeling almost a bit exposed there with an Angel there in my room. I heard a place siren go by the apartment there along the street.

"You need to see this," He said to me, not indicating my previous comment to him and I looked to see him staring at something there on the desk. H looked serious about something, I knew that face and how I read that this was not going to be a regular casual conversation that we would have in the past. No, he meant business coming here.

"What's wrong?" I asked him finally as I walked over to the desk where he was sitting. He was so still there not moving an inch as I finally looked over his shoulder to see what was there. There was a newspaper there, folded neatly and the headline as placed right at the top for me to read slowly. It made me heart finally drop to the floor and almost have me feel like I was losing my sense of gravity.

 _A metahuman gang member by the name of Chato Santana surrendered to the place last night at 3:30 in the morning at his home in East Los Angeles when he set his home into flames. Authorities found no trace of human bodies inside, but the suspect informed the police that he murdered his wife, Grace Santana, and his two children. He was sent to Belle Reeve Prison within hours after the arrest. The metahuman was known on the streets as El Diablo, a notorious gang member and leader of the gang called The Hillsiders._

I looked away from the newspaper and walked over to the window, feeling as though everything I thought I wanted to do within the next few months was going to be placed in shambles. I wanted to find him again, to at least show my face and that all that I was doing was okay. There was still the concept and thought that I would give to tell him that I was a Fallen Angel, but that was another messy business that I was going to have to deal with.

"Where is he now?" I asked Jacob as I looked ahead out the window.

"At Belle Reeve," I looked over my shoulder at him, "He just landed there two minutes ago while you were sleeping."

"You wanted to tell me this now?" I asked him, not wanting to sound mean or cruel about it but it was getting me agitated that I couldn't help my own friend there. Jacob got up from his spot now as he looked over at me, sensing my disheartenment there within me.

"This was the path that had to be taken," Jacob said to me as I breathed out very slowly just to calm myself down, "He needs to be taken away."

"You sound so kind when it's said like that," I muttered to him in a low manner. I didn't think that this would be the life that Chato was going to have, and it was the last thing that I wanted for him. It was hurting me, and I only hoped that I was going to help him in any way possible.

"You remember some months ago when I told you that you were going to help people here?" He asked me, having me slowly nod my head, "Well, the moment has come for you. Within the next few hours, you too will be arrested and you are going to fulfill your own fate with those people that I told you about."

"Now?" I asked him, feeling a bit shocked about it. I knew ti was coming and I knew that it was going to change everything about me since I told Jacob I was willing to do something about it. I had no other life to hold not, but now that this was the time for me to be arrested and placed in jail, all I could think about the Chato. How was I ever going to see him again? How long was he going to be away for? Was there ever a chance that I would even see his face?

"It must be now, and I know that your heart is breaking," Jacob reassured me, in which I tried to wipe the tear from my face since Chato was breaking me down and all over in a million ways, "But this is the time for your to fulfill what you were meant for." I was thinking back to the previous conversation how I was still not in the loop with this whole destiny thing from Jacob. A part of me wanted to refuse this, to not go and to try and find a way to help Chato. But the other half, the Angel half that I had within me was telling me to go on with my task for Jacob for the greater good. It was gnawing at me and so dull of a pain. But I knew what I had to do, and if Jacob knew that he would explain things to me about Chato and he won't' leave me in the dark when it comes to him, then I had to go on I guess.

"When do I get arrested?" I asked him now, my voice was severely low now and he could see it on my face that I wanted to run, to really run. He placed one hand there on my cheek, the Grace and warmth there on his fingertips and is palm was pressing into me and seeing under my skin into my body. He was trying to reassure me, to show me that he knew my pain. I could see it there in his eyes, he emphasized with me.

"In 6 hours."

* * *

Mid-Way City

Present Day

"Three days ago, a non-human entity appeared in the subway station. So Waller sent me and a woman with incredible abilities. A witch," Flag was telling us the whole story as to why we were here since Deadshot apparently found out in that binder he almost threw at Flag's head. It was still proving and we were still out there in the open on the side of the street.

"See, nobody could get near this thing, but the witch could. Needless to say, the whole was a bad idea. And that's how she escaped from Waller. So now you know." He stopped and looked at each of us then, thinking that we were going to kill him for dropping the truth of us. Were we going up against a witch? I was beyond normalcy there when it came to my mind. First, it was the lie about Amanda being the one we were going os ave, and now it was that we were going to fight some kind of evil source and evil entity.

"That's not all of it, though," Flag said to us now as we thought it that was he said to us was enough for us all squirm, "Amanda specifically wanted to…to have a Fallen Angel on the team since she felt like they could take out a witch and handle it," I glared at him now, seeing that there was a real reason for me to be here. I was going to be the sacrifice for Amanda for this weird Witch child that we were about to fight, This was all coming together in a circle for me, at least the human part of me that was still on the fence being here. But now, now I was going to be the one that was going to be killed for the sake of saving the world. Was this what Jacob was thinking about when he told this was my destiny?

I looked down at the floor, ready wanting to roll up in a ball and just die there on the street. This was so not fair for me to be in here, and I had a great word or two to tell Jacob since he thought I was going to be okay. Surely, now he lied. Chato looked over at me as I was looking down at my shoes there and seeing them get dumped there from either the rain or my tears. He pressed into me from the side, not leaving my side as he then rested his hand on my lower back as some kind of source of comfort.

"You can just kill me right now, but I'm going to have a drink," Deadshot said to him in a bitter manner as he nodded his head, already accepting what was going to happen to us now as he walked away.

"Hey, Deadshot. I need you help," Flag called out to him, sounding desperate as he stayed still and Deadshot moved over to the building next to us without saying another word about it.

"You need a miracle," was Deadshot's reply. I looked up then, sniffling a bit now as I was about to move away too, but Flag finally called out to me.

"Marley," He called, having me pause now as he looked at me directly in the eyes. He looked so sad there after what he told us, but now he needed me, I sensed it. The feeling of desperation and plead, "Please."

"Please what, Flag? Die for your mistake?" I asked him bitterly now as I wanted to really tear him a new one now. Chato moved over to stand with me, gasping my arm with his hand and not wanting me to hear anything else. I didn't want to at all, I didn't want to look at his face anymore since it was only making em thin of Waller and her selfishness for me being there as a pawn for her stupid game.

"Come on, Marley," Chato said to me under his breath as he guided me over to the building, right after Harley who bowed to the group. I pushed back one more tear as Chato stayed close to me now, not saying anything but he did understand. He was feeling it too, and I was hoping and praying that I was anywhere else but here.

Anywhere else, please God, Anywhere else.

* * *

"Sit down, sugar," Harley said as she walked over to the back of the bar and I sat next to Diablo on his left, away from the others who were pulling up the barstools and sitting there too. Katana even joined us there, Croc making room in the back at one of the back booths near the fish tank while Harley started pouring drinks there for us. I stayed quiet, looking dead ahead at my reflection there in the mirror across from me. I looked damaged, almost worn out from the rain and the previous fights. I thought I would be better that this before all of the truth came out and all of the lies were placed in front of me.

"Here you go," Harley said to me, placing a glass of whiskey there in front of me. Chato looked over at me now, wondering if I was going to drink it there and I breathed out, grasping the glass there in my hand as Deadshot raised his own shot glass that Harley gave him. Something inside of me spoke, a voice in the back of my head was telling me something.

 _Hang on...they still need you..._

"Here's to honor amongst thieves," Deadshot said to us, though Katana rebuffed him.

"I'm not a thief," She replied smoothly as she moved away from him and over to where I was but farther down, Deadshot looking back at Harley again. Croc had a beer in his hand, Harley had a blue cocktail with a pink umbrella, and Boomerang was holding a tall 40 ounce can within his own grubby hands.

"Well, she's not a thief." Deadshot explained, almost out loud to the group there as he went on, "Well, we almost pulled it off…despite what everybody thought. And the worst part of it is, they're going to blame us for the whole thing. And they can't have people knowing the truth. We're the patsies, the cover-up. Don't forget, we're the bad guys. Except for Marley, no offense," She said to me as he looked down in my direction. I just stared at him and nodded once. I looked at my own drink there and drank down most of it there in one sitting as Deadshot spoke again. But I didn't feel like a good guy or a bad guy, I felt like I didn't belong anywhere since nothing else was making sense in my own head anymore.

"For about two sweet seconds…I had hope," He said, which then triggered Chato to come next to me and shift to face him from his own seat next to me. He snorted, resting one arm on the table and facing him now with an amused look on his face. I looked too, seeing something else shift there in Chato since he was not going to be quiet.

"You had hope, huh? Hope don't stop the wheel from turning, my brother," Chato said to him in his gruff tone.

"You preaching?"

"It's coming back around for you. How many people have you killed, man?" Chato asked him now. I felt like we were about to go into a bad conversation now, from how Chato was sitting and how low his voice got.

"You don't ask nobody no question like that, ese," Deadshot warned.

"You ain't ever whacked down no women? No kids." I looked at him in shock, wondering why the hell Chato would ask him that. Deadshot had the same look on his face too, not seeing where this was coming from and why this was coming out now while we were in some kind of abandoned bar. It was ing me uneasy now since he wasn't sounding like the boy I one knew.

"I don't kill women and children," Deadshot answered.

"I do," Chato replied without blinking, Boomerang eyeing him now without saying a word about it. This was about to get heavy now since I kind of knew what he was talking about and where he was going with this. The guilt, the shame of what he did was about to come out. I remembered back to that night so many years ago when I read about it in the paper and I wanted nothing more than to find him and save him. I was feeling the guilt too, spreading like wildfire within me.

"See, I was born with the Devil's gift. I kept it hidden most of my life, but the older I got the stronger I got. The only other person that knew about it was Marley," He said, looking over at me for a brief second as I said nothing and looked back. I saw the sadness in his eyes, and I was so tempted to hold his hands, but I was frozen as he looked back at Deadshot.

"So I started using it. For business you know? The more power on the street I got, the more firepower I got. Like that shit went hand in hand. You know? One was feeding the other. Ain't nobody tell me no. Except for my old lady," I cringed, hearing him bring up Grace in a way that seemed light but almost full or mourning.

"You know, she used to pray for me. Even when I didn't want it. God didn't give me this. Why should he take it away?" He made the silhouette of Grace in the form of a fiery flame in the middle of his palm, the figure dancing just for him now as he looked at Deadshot with skepticism there. I knew he was talking about the fire and how Grace was killed, how his children were killed as well, and how he was blaming it all on himself. I was feeling his sadness hit me over, and over, and over. Like I was being punched in the gut my chest himself, being punched because he was made for me leaving him behind.

"See when I get mad, I lose control you know, I just.. I don't know what I do…until it's done." He grabbed an empty glass near him, turning it upside down and placing it over the flame to suffocate and to fall into its death. I watched, the mourning of his pain was still hitting me all over and making me feel as though I could melt to the floor. He had too much pain for one person to live with, all from something that was out of his own control and his own ability.

"And the kids?" Boomerang asked, out of blue and after a few seconds of drinking it all in.

"He killed them, didn't you?" Harley asked him now from her spot behind the bar and she eyes him, almost like she was about to grill him. The others said nothing now as it was out in the open, and I saw Chato about to cry. One of his hands dropped to hang at his side lifelessly, and I reached out to once again hold his hand on my own. I felt no warmth this time in him, and I was trying to soak any kind of warmth I had left within myself to give to him. I didn't want this for him, to feel this pain and this mourning from what happened to Grace and his children.

"Own that shit," Harley commanded him in her bold tone now, "Own it! What 'd you think was gonna happen? Huh?"

"Hey, Harley. Come on," Deadshot countered, but she was still talking to him.

"What, were you just….thinking you can have a family and coach little league and make car payments? Normal is a setting on the Dryer. People like us, we don't get normal!" She explained to him in almost a shout. I eyed Chato, seeing him getting angry again from how she was reacting to what he told her. I wanted her to stop talking since he was about to snap and kill her then and there.

"Why is it always a knife fight every single time you open your mouth?" She went quiet as Boomerang asked her this, all of us looking at him now as he was glaring at Harley. Even she looked almost like a wounded animal.

"You know, outside, you're amazing. But inside, you're ugly." He sneered at her.

"We all are. We all are!" She said to him, glaring over at Croc now, "Except for him. He's ugly on the outside, too."

"Not me shorty," Croc answered her back as he showed his face to us from under his hoodie, "I'm beautiful."

"Yeah you are," She said in agreement as I saw Chato look over at me now. I saw the sadness there on his face, having em reach up to at least get one of those tears off his face before he stopped me with his own spare hand. Another song was playing there on the sound system, a familiar song that I knew of from the past that made me both happy and sad at the same time.

 _Earth Angel, Earth Angel_

 _Will you be mine?_

 _My darling dear, love you all the time_

 _I'm just a fool, a fool in love with you…._

"Why are you here?" I looked up and away from him now as Harley was the one who asked that, looking over at me with her curious eyes and how she could see me holding Chato close enough to not grow a suspicion. She had a thought about the both opus already, but I wasn't caring at this time.

"You know why I'm here," I replied, but she shook her head.

"You didn't tell us all of it, honey," She reminded me as I fell quiet. I could see the others looking at me now since it was the truth: I didn't tell them anything and everything about it. They were still in the dark with me: only seeing me as a saint who came to help the sinners.

"I was told, by a guardian if you will, that I have to protect you from….this witch I guess," I explained to them softly there, "But I'm not a full Angel. I can't protect you," Sure it sounded so melodramatic on my part but it was the truth. I was still human, I still had weaknesses within me that were holding me back from as powerful as Jacob knew I could see.

"You saved me, back there with those goonies," Boomerang said as a soft reminder to me from she spot there at the bar.

"But thanks to Waller, I'm a dead Angel," I said back, remembering what she told me and what Flag told me too. I was going to be the sacrifice to the witch, some lame attempt to stop her at all costs and to spare the others. I didn't like it since it was going to make her look good to have an Angel on her roster, even if it was a dead one.

Flag finally came in, walking in almost a sulky manner there and coming over to sit next to Deadshot now. We all glared at him, mostly everyone else there was glaring at him and I was still nice and quiet there next to Chato.

"We don't want you here," Harley said to him now as he looked like he was hit by a truck.

"You get to the part in that binder saying I was sleeping with her?" Flag asked the group, only Deadshot was nodding his head.

"Yeah," He answered, "I never been with a witch before. What's that like?" Flag said nothing, almost looking down in defeat as Deadshot spoke to Harley now, "Apparently that's why the creatures chase him all the time. 'Cause..uhh.. the witch is scared of him."

"The only woman I ever cared about..is trapped inside that monster. If I don't stop the witch, it's over. Everything is over. Everything." He explained in a somber tone as Deadshot watched him there, almost feeling his own pain and heartbreak. He then pulled out the phone from his wrist device, the same phone that had the ability to turn on our nanite bombs. He slammed it into the control, killing it and shattering it into a thousand pieces.

"You're free to go."

 _Marley….Marley…_

They were still talking to each other as I heard Jacob again in my own head, having me squint my eyes shut and try to at least hear what he had to say about it as I hear someone running off.

He was trying to warn me about something, I could hear the urgency in his voice as Deadshot was having some kind of heated talk with Flag now in the background.

 _You need to stay with them….stay and protect them..._

 _How, Jacob? I'm useless against the witch. She'll kill me._

 _Not unless they help you….let them help you….let Chato help you…_

I snapped back to it now as I looked over to see Deadshot and Flag watching me there, still at my end of the bar with Chato and I felt uneasiness on me again. What did Jacob mean that they were going to help me? Why would they help me?

"You know, we're not going let Waller get everything her way," I shot a look over at Deadshot as he explained that to me like he was giving to give me another idea for me. I raised an eyebrow at him, not understanding what he said and what he was implying.

"What do you mean?" Chato asked him now as he looked over at Deadshot, still holding me there with one hand placed under the countertop and the other was now lowered to the bar countertop, holding my wrist gently there within his calloused fingers.

"I mean, we're gonna make sure you're gonna live in this too, even when she wants you dead," Deadshot explained to the both of us, having me see him pour his eyes into me, "You protect us, and we protect you. That's what we do, you get me?"

Chato looked over at me, in hopes that I understood. He nodded his head, squeezing our fingers together and silently telling me to believe him. I wanted to so bad to just think that this was the end, but even the Suicide Squad was thinking that there was still hope in this mission. I had to believe that too, in what Jacob told me that they were going to help me as much as I was going to help them.

"Yeah. Let's prove the bitch wrong."


	11. Chapter 11

The boomerang went flying out, past us and over to the center where we were going to be fighting that witch and all that she had in her arsenal. We were standing at the end behind one of the brick buildings as Boomerang checked his phone. He could see where he launched his weapon since it had a camera, and we all looked at the view of what seemed to be some kind of wielding magic that was floating up into the sky, very powerful and massive within that station a bit farther away now.

I saw the witch, conducting the powers there in the middle and some kind of massive magic being stirred and moved by her fingers without the physical contact. I was watching it carefully, wondering if it was something I could really do. She seemed powerful enough, with the kind of magic I've never seen before. There was something else to the side, standing near here that almost had the stature of a thick brick wall but was booming of energy. An accomplice maybe? Another thing that we were going to have to fight after all.

"We think that thing's a weapon," Flag explained as he looked at the image, "Here. Lower." Boomerang lowered the came shot at the middle area. seeing the massive magic and energy at the top of what seemed to be stairs and the witch there right in the middle of it. The massive brick wall of a being saw our camera, whipping out a vine of black magic at us to stop the view.

The image went static, Boomerang lowering the phone there since we couldn't get a clear shot.

"We gotta take out the big one," Deadshot said to him, Flag thinking to himself as he was trying to conduct a plan in his head on how we were going to do this.

"I left a big ass demo charge down there in that subway. THere's a flooded tunnel, leads right underneath that building. SEAL's, thy can cover the charge, sim underneath that things feet. We get in its face and distract the hell out of that son of a bitch. So the swimmers can blow the bomb. That's how we take it out." He explained, having me think that it was a good enough plan. Distract the big guy, get him in the right spot, and kill him off to get to the witch. I looked from Flag over to Chato and Harley, both of whom were out of the way a bit now as we were talking about the plan. It could work, if nothing goes wrong and we were all on the same page, it could really work in our favor.

But there was still that line that I was about to cross: me being the one who was going to take on the witch.

* * *

We were sitting to the side of the flooded subway tunnel entrance, Croc already getting ready with the SEAL's that were going to go underwater and get the bomb ready for our plan. I was sitting in silence there behind chat, who was at the stopped escalator stairs. The others were leaning against the wall, getting their own expos ready and prepped. I could hear Katana at the front of the small hallway we were in, talking to her Katana in a hushed sound like she was afraid. But I could hear what she was saying.

 _"My dear husband. If I die in battle, we will finally be together."_

"The man who killed her husband used that sword. His souls trapped inside of it. She talks to him," Flag informed the group quietly now as he was watching her. I looked too, past Chato's head as she was mourning into her sword.

"Hey. Well, you know what they say about the crazy ones." Boomerang voiced from his spot next to Flag, knives in his hand and his eyes looking off across from him. It was when Harley perked up, looking at him.

"Huh?" She asked. Deadshot and Boomerang chuckled a bit silently as I looked back at Chato, seeing him watch me as I was stopping my fingers against my leg there in a rapid pace.

"You're nervous," he voiced, having me gaze at him in confusion.

"I'm not," I countered.

"Are too. You always tap your leg like that when you get nervous, I remember," He explained as he sat with his arms resting on his knees and his eyes were on me, a small smirk on his lips, "I liked that about you."

"What? Me being nervous?" I asked him, thinking that it was silly. He shook his head slowly now as he stood up there and was face to face with me, yet I was a bit smaller since I was a step lower from the escalator.

"Naw, you being yourself," I was quiet when he said that to me, a somber look on his face as he licked his lips and looked down for a moment before looking back up again.

"What I said before, about us starting all over again, you still want to do that, right?" He asked me, hesitating when he was saying that to me. I nodded my head at him as I slowly placed my hands on my hips.

"Of course I do, why would I change my mind?" I asked him, not understand where he was coming from. He shifted with his feet, already seeming uneasy about it now as he spoke once again with a nervousness tone to his voice.

"You heard what I did to my family back there, Marley. It made me a monster, and I'm not gonna wanna do that to anyone again. If I do that to do—" He was rambling about what he's done and what he thought he was going to do, but I stopped him my placing my hand there on his chest, feeling his heartbeat under my fingertips and feeling how fast his heart was going from just talking to me.

"Let me be clear to you, Chato Santana, when I say that you are not a monster. I know for a fact you're not," I explained to him boldly between the both of us. It didn't matter that he looked the part with his tattooed face or how he would stare, I knew him better than that.

"How would you?" He asked softly, still not getting it as I peered at him with my own eyes. I fanned my fingers there on his chest, feeling the heart there and keeping it there for him to feel.

"Because you're still the little boy that ran into my life with a candy bar in his hand," I explained carefully, "You're still my best friend and that stood by me when I felt alone. You're good, you just got lost along the way," I wanted him to know that just in case something does happen to either one of us and we couldn't say it to each other then. But there was still the small thing of me wanting to tell him that I loved him, yet that thought was still vague and not set in stone just yet at least to me.

"Let's do this," Flag said to the group, moving from his spot there and getting his gun ready in his hand, the others were moving too since it was time to get this job done once and for all. Chato breathed out from looking at me, finally looking away from me and climbing up the stairs to pass Boomerang and walk out. I stayed for a moment now, thinking about it in my head if that was the right thing that I did to him, tell him how I felt without saying the actual sentence in my head. Did Jacob know that this would happen to me, to the both of us? I thought he did as I climbed the steps now, seeing Boomerang still there by his spot and he was watching me there with hesitance on his face.

"You alright, luv?" He asked me, having me nod my head at him now.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good," I answered, but he looked unconvinced.

"You know you should have kissed him and just got it over it," I looked at him almost in shock there when he said that, seeing him grin as he walked away with me asking him what was going on. But then it clicked: he knew. God, were Chato and me that obvious in front of the others. We might have which gave off a small hint of embarrassment.

Great, that was not how I wanted this whole thing to end.

* * *

The subways itself was dark, splattered of dark masses from the witch or the beings were all over the place. It was eery and quiet, beyond quiet and the debris was everywhere was we were walking. We stayed close and walked in the middle of the subway platform, keeping our guard up and looking around to see the bodies there on the floor, scattered amongst the bullet shells that too were seen as useless. Even some of the black stuff was hanging from the ceiling, some it in midair like it was frozen in time.

Needless to say, it scared me.

I walked behind Chato, seeing him look around too as well as the others. The uneasiness was in all of them now, not just me, so that felt a wee bit reassuring. Some of those bodies were chopped in half, being shoved into the wall from the back mass and it was making me feel a twinge down my spine from how it looked there. I realized that they were soldiers, the ones that we lost some time before and it was making me rethink this whole thing again now as we were still walking.

We finally turned a corner where we were getting ready to go up some stairs, having me see that it was near the subway main terminal. Flag had his gun out as well as Deadshot with his wrist gun. Chato walked up to them now as I grabbed both of my pistols there in my hand.

"You gonna fight with us?" Deadshot asked Chato.

"What if I lose control?" Chato asked him back in worry.

"Then maybe we'll have a chance," Deadshot answered, not in a sarcastic way but in confidence as we were going up the stairs to the top, healing the ominous sounds of the magic there. Everything was glowing blue and almost in a hypnotics way now as we were at the terminal, about to go into the fight there as I could feel the sense of darkness around me, almost like it was a blanket that was trying to cover me up for good.

Flag went in first, we were following him along the rows of columns there as he then motioned for us to hide behind each of them. Flag and Deadshot were at one, Harley and Chato at the second one,

Boomerang and Katana at the third and I became the solo one at the end. WE were all watching it there, wondering how we were going to go along with our plan. It was daunting to see it in front of us instead of behind a camera screen.

"Hey, everyone can see this trip magic stuff, right?" Harley asked the group in hesitance as she had a pistol near her head, loaded and ready.

"Yeah, why?" Deadshot replied to her now with his own question.

"I'm off my meds," Harley answered as I was rolling my shoulders there to get my wings ready, but not bringing them out yet. I didn't want to give myself away just yet with all of this happening in front of me.

"That's your old lady, huh?" Deadshot asked Flag under his breath.

"Yeah."

"Well, you need to handle this shit, all right? Get up there, smack on her ass, tell her: 'knock this shit off'." Deadshot informed him, though Flag still looked unsure.

"I do not think that'd be wise," Flag said truthfully, "I'm gonna draw out the big one. My boys will detonate the bomb underneath him." We were still going on with the plan, having me say a quick pray not only to myself but to Jacob, in hopes hat I was doing the right thing at the right time.

God, please spare them. I don't know what will happen to me, but let Chato have a good life.

"I've been waiting for you all night. Step out of the shadows, I won't bite."

I could really tell that it was some kind of dark magic in how she sounded and in how I was feeling it down to my core. Something inside of me was now screaming at me that I was in a dark place, my Angel side was wanting me to be careful and not let my guard down. I shot a look down the line at the group, Chato shaking his head at the others in wanting now since he could tell this was a bad choice. But of course, Harley shrugged her shoulders and started walking over there and Deadshot scooped her over to be stuffed between himself and Flag.

"Why are you here? Because the soldier led you? And all for Waller? Why do you serve those who cage you? I am your ally. And I know what you want. Exactly what you want." She was saying something in my head that was making me loose my consciousness like I was dreaming but I was still there. I could remember it all there, within my head now as things were going to black.

* * *

 _I was standing outside on a balcony somewhere near the ocean. Breathing in the ocean air and I could feel the wind scoping through my hair there as I was watching the waves roll in and out, in and out now. Nothing was dark, nothing was bare and raw as I could hear someone walking behind me and over to stand next to me, a hand moving over to rest on my hip and I leaned against the body there. The body warmth that I was feeling already made a smile as I was watching the ocean go through the motions there._

 _"Glad we came out here," I said to him as I was feeling the warmth all over me, hearing him hum in agreement there as I looked up. I saw his smooth face, tan and warm under the sun and how big his own smile was. I saw him look over at me with his bright warm eyes and I felt my own heart melt. There were no tattoos there on his face, or anywhere there on his body as he held me a big closer._

 _"It'll just be you and me, always." He reminded me as he leaned in to kiss me there. I was about to kiss him there on the balcony of some him when something inside of my head warning me, yelling at me. It sounded so desperate and almost unreal as I could hear it again._

Jacob's voice.

 _Wake up! Wake up!_

* * *

I woke up within a deep breath, having me move away from the column and I was back there at the terminal. It scared me to think that it felt so real to me that I almost lost myself to the witch, it had to be the witch. I looked at the others, seeing that most of them, if not all of them, were still in the trance that the witch was doing to them. It scared me that she was doing this tot them, but now I was the one that broke the trance as I knew that I had to be the one to stop the witch.

I moved out of the way of the darkness and hiding there as I walked over to the middle of the terminal there, seeing the witch there and she finally saw me as I stood there, alone. I was making an insanely dumb idea there, no squad behind me and no real sense as to what I was going to do.

"I thought I sensed an Angel amongst the demons," The witch said in her sultry but demonic tone of a voice, "A strong mind like yours will be able to see what I give you."

"Leave them alone," I warned her, seeing her grin at me as I stood my ground and not moved an inch.

"Are you going to protect those mere metahumans? Who are they to you, an Angel?" She asked me now, trying to play with my mind there.

"They are my friends, demon." I wanted her, seeing her flare up a bit from the word I used on her now. Was it that I hit a nerve with her now as she was about to use something one me there, throwing out an arm at me and something flying out like a vine there. It hit me hard in the chest, in which I flew back a bit and my feet were scraping on the floor since I was trying to hold my ground there. I stopped when the vines were brought back to her, eyeing her with a small smile as I could feel a good amount of blood on my face from the assault trickling down my face there. But I felt no pain, not with her at least.

"You call that a punch, bitch?" I asked her in a booming tone now, hearing her almost growl at me as a voice run out there from back at the columns.

"I can't change what I did, and neither can you!"

It was Chato, coming out from his trance as I walked back over to the witch and I grabbed one of the pistols there in my holster and I aimed it right at her, not backing down a bit now since I was feeling more confident in this fight. We so close to ending this, and I didn't want some witch to take these people from me.

"Let them go, or so help me by God and the Angel themselves, I will personally make you pay for hurting them," I promised her as I aimed at her between the eyes. I felt like the Angels were going to be on my side there when I said that, and I wanted to make sure that I was going to be good on my word. I was not afraid of her, nor was I ever going to be since I knew we still had a plan. Footsteps were behind me, but I said there with my pistol still at her head now as she was looking at the others, no other dealing with me.

"How long have you been able to see?" She asked some who walked up to stand next to me. I could see him out of the corner of my eye: Chato. And he looked beyond pissed.

"My whole life. You can't have them, and you can't have her," He warned the watch now as he pointed at me, "These are my people right here." The others were standing with Chato and me now as I was standing so still, the blood from my head going down my cheek and along my jawline as the witch spoke once more.

"But is it our time. The sun is setting and the magic rises. The metahumans are a sign of change," She said to the group now, trying to convince them.

"Lady, you are EVIL!" Deadshot said to her in his booming voice as he too pointed at her now with anger in his own eyes. She the then spoke in some kind of dead language, though I understood it sounded so foreign to me than anything else I heard in the past.

"Brother. Make them bow to me,"

We all looked to see who she was talking to, the big one that we were targeting before now as he was walking to us from the other side of the terminal, behind the columns. He was mean, he was vicious, and he was going to be one hell of a fight.

"Oh, wow!" Deadshot said under his breath.

"Uh oh," Harley said in a low manner., Katana having her sword ready and out in front of her.

"Who's this?!" Boomerang asked in a panic. The being was stalking down the steps now over to us as I felt the panic sinking amongst all of us.

"It's gonna be bad!" Flag warned.

"We should run," Deadshot added. Flag fired for one a few seconds before vines came out of the big one's hands and we all ducked from the damage. It struck the steps behind us. Chato and I fell to our knees, covering our heads now as Deadshot and Flag ran over to hide behind a statue, the being shooting out some of its magic at them. He struck at Katana and Boomerang who were hiding as well behind their own statue.

"GQ, come in. WE're in position," Flag said to his Comm as I shot up and shot at the being a few times, seeing him throw out his magic at me. I rolled my shoulders back in time for my wings to sprawl out ad I shot up in the air before the magic could hit me, hovering in the air for him to see as a moving target.

He tried to hit me a few times, but I was moving faster though they were becoming close calls than anything. Boomerang even tried to hit him with one of his boomerang that had an explosive, but it didn't work.

"We gotta get him in that corner. That's where the bomb will be," Flag explained as I looked to where he was pointing, a bit far away but close enough as I was still shooting at him and trying to find a good spot. He was getting agitated with me, the big one was now reached out to grasp me but I was avoiding him, almost like I was spinning him around in circles.

"I'll do it! I'll get him there!" Chato explained to Flag as I grabbed my dagger and launched myself over at his arm, digging the dagger in there and trying to twist to get him to yell out in pain. The armor on that thing was harder than I thought. He shoved me to the side, having me fly off of him now and hit the column behind me hard and fall to the floor, crumbled up as he was about to hit Boomerang who was pinned down by seats. Katana threw up her sword to chop off his hand, which fell to the floor and he grew one more arm back. Great, someone whom we can't kill easily.

"I lost one family. I ain't gonna lose another one," Chato said to Deadshot as I got up from the ground, eyeing the Big One there as my dagger was still stuck in his arm like he didn't feel it at all.

"Look, think it through.." Deadshot tried to tell him.

"I got this. Let me show you what I really am." Chato replied, then moving over to where the begin was that was about to strike me down. I looked at Chato, about to panic since he was going to do something stupid there as he threw up his hands and shouted, "Over here!"

Flames were engulfing the being, and he was struggling to look past them as Chato was giving him everything he had within him. I stood there to the side, watching the both of them and then looking over at Chato to see if he was okay. He was afraid of them, of having this power that would make him lose control over himself or others. But I saw the true nature of his ability there, how he was handling ti so well and using it to protect us there.

Suddenly, the big being kicked Chato hard in the chest and he flew back over to where one of the offices was above the steps he crashed into it, having me look over in panic. I thought he was dead.

"NO!" I screamed, looking back at the being with Deadshot, Boomerang, and Harley all charming him now with me. Deadshot was kicked down, Harley and Boomerang were swept to the side and it felt me. I had no choice but to try and get him down myself now as he was facing me, almost in flames himself as he was hovering me. I didn't care, he almost killed Chato in front of me and that tipped me over the edge.

"Get me!" I screamed, seeing him about to drive his fist down at me. I knew that if someone was going to die from this, it had to be me. I had the destiny to protect these people and this was going to be it, no matter if I was ready to die or not. I had to be ready, and I only hoped that the others would be fine with me.

A roar burst through behind me where Chato crashed, the big one stopped and looked up. The look on his face showed uneasiness as I looked over too, seeing someone else that was no Chato, or something else. It was just as large at this baddie but engulfed in flames and the form as almost like a skeleton god with a headdress and a mean look on his face. I was entranced by it, and for a second I had no idea who or what it was.

But it was now making sense. El Diablo.

They were fighting each other as my wings were folded back in. It was not Chato being the only one who could do any real damage to the big one there as we were all watching in awe, seeing one swing at the other and the other swinging back. They were sparring at each other, almost making me see the Chato getting the upper hand and become more powerfulI ever picture for him. He was pushing the being over to the one spot where we knew the bomb was going to go off, and I had hope that this was going to be it. That we were going to win.

But of course, that wasn't the case.

Chato fell to the floor, the big one had his hadn't around his neck as his demon form was now gone and be was back to his human form again, so small in front of the thing. He was not going to make it, and I was about to start something to get him away from the thing before he was murdered. I didn't want this for him, I came too close for Chato to be taken from me now.

"Diablo, get clear! Get out of there!" Flag warned him as Chato looked over at the group now, his eyes still had the fire in them.

"Blow it!" He commanded Flag, all of us were looking at him now. Was he really going to do it? Flag even looked at Deadshot to have him tell him what to do it. Deadshot licked his lips. Jacob was talking to me again now, the voice in the back of my head.

Save him…save him….

"Blow it," He said to him now, Flag almost looking like he was punched in the chest from what he was feeling as I shook my head. No, no this can't be right. It was supposed to be me there, dying at his hands.

"Now, GQ now," Flag said to his comm.

"NO!" Harley protested.

"Everybody down!" Flag yelled, the rest of the group was ducking, but I was staying still. I

" _Now you're screwed_ ," Chato said to the being in Spanish and in a growl. had to think, knowing that what I was about to do was both stupid and almost suicidal. But I wasn't going to go on with this life knowing that he should have been with me. So I did the stupid thing and ran over to Chato, sliding on my knees to stand behind him now and press my hands there on the being's hands that were around Chato's neck.

"Marley! Get out of here!" He said to me now as I glared at the being there. I wasn't going to let him win, nor was I going to let Chato be alone there with his death.

"I'm mean to save you, and I will," I said to him as I then spoke to the big one then in Hebrew, the one langue that was given to me the moment I had my wings,

 _"Goodbye."_

The ground shook and things were exploding from underneath us, my wings sprouting out from behind me and wrapping around both Chato and myself as we were shaken by the explosion beneath us. I could feel the rifle hitting us heard as we sunk down, down and down low to the ground of the hole there and the noise shaking us to the core. I clung onto Chato, feeling him shake and he clung onto me. I thought we were going to die there, but at least we were going to die in each other's arms.

How romantic.


	12. Chapter 12

Everything was hazy, numbing all over me and making me feel dizzy and the pain was almost too much. My whole back felt like it was on fire, the wings were too painful for me to even move them. Where were they? Where was I?

What was happening, and why did it feel like I died?

My body was somewhere floating, feeling beyond cold and almost like it was numbing from the sensation of being wet all over. My lungs were collapsing, I could feel it underneath my skin as I could feel my breathing was getting worse. I blinked, hearing some drops here and there and some kind of commotion high above me, a fight going on that made me cringe a bit since moving felt like it wasn't an option. There was wetness there along with my head and my neck, but I was still dizzy and confused. Should I be dead? It felt like I was, or I was about to be since moving an inch was enough to make me cry out in agony.

Chato…where was Chato?

I tried to move, but my voice as caught in my throat and it was beyond hard to move, which made me harder for me to understand why this was happening to me. Then it was slowly coming back: the big one of a being that was working for the witch, the dream that I saw in my head once again from the witch, and then finally staring her down with a gun pointed at her head for threatening me and my friends.

I was ruthless, only mere seconds ago. But now I nearly died.

 _You're not dead…._

 _Feels like it, Jacob._

 _You must keep strong. You will live._

"Marley…Marley? Where are you?" I could hear Chato from far away, almost like he was in pain too and was trying to get up. It sounded like it was from behind me, and I was still trying to move. But I moved to get my hand up to grasp something against the wall where I was, all I could see there was blood. Too much blood for my liking.

The bomb. It should have killed the both of us.

Why were we alive? Was it because of me? It couldn't have been me since I was still only half human. Was it the second Angel half of me that was trying to keep me alive. If it wasn't for the Angel part of me, I should be beyond dead. That had to be it since I was still hearing Jacob.

I gripped the side of the rock there was the closest to me, seeing the blood there on my skin and I tried to mauve my way over there. I realized that I was in some kind of water, which was keeping me afloat as part of my upper body was perched up on the shore wherever we were. It was darker, something was dripping down onto my face and body there, and it almost felt too cold there.

"Hey…hey Marley," I could hear him moving a bit behind me, almost struggling himself there as he was getting closer and closer to me . I tried to speak again, but something was stopping me there as it was feeling harder and harder to breathe. I was wheezing in and out, sounding almost like I was struggling behind me.

"Shit….shit shit," He said in a panicked tone behind me now as he moved over to my side, looking down at me in almost a panic since he could see all of me there. What did I look like to him, maybe almost a literal corpse with all of the blood? I looked right at him, seeing that he looked battered a bit there on his face. I saw a few scrapes along his face and on his arms there, a lot of rubble dust and soot too, but he was alive. Chato was alive.

That's all that mattered, wasn't it?

"You're okay…you're gonna be okay," He kept saying it over read over now as he was looking at my up and down, almost like he was going to believe what he was saying in that act of desperation. He was so scared, I could see it there on his face. It was making me feel terrible at the moment to see him be scared over this when he was the one that had to be saved. So this was my destiny, after all, dying in front of the one person that I saved after all of the hassles. I felt him carefully trying to touch my face there without hurting me too much like I was far too delicate now.

"It's okay," I reassured him with the small amount of a voice that I had left there, seeing him stop thinking to himself and look over at me, confusion there on his face when I said it with such a softness there in his voice and I didn't look like I was scared or in pain.

"What?" He asked me, almost sounding scared about it himself there as he was looking at me directly.

"It's going to be okay," I reassured him again, taking in a shaky breath and almost coughing a bit as he moving his hands away from my face and one of his ads went to grab my bloody hand there against the wall.

"I don't understand." He said to me in a huff there since he sounded wounded too.

"You're supposed to live," I explained to him, "I'm fine dying." He drank that in since it sounded so calm that way that I said it. Man, I must have sounded pathetic for that to be okay for me to say that to him. But this had to be the real reason why I wasn't dead sooner, that I got these wigs that felt like they were sawed off of me. Why else would I be there and Jacob telling me to find and help Chato?

"Well, I ain't," He replied to me, finally letting his mind be set as to helping me. He was stubborn, I give him that as he finally laced our fingers there together. My bloody fingers and his rough ones as he licked his lips and then wrapped an arm underneath me to support me. I squinted when he did that, feeling the cool water there and his skin against my back.

"Do that…do that Grace thing that can heal yourself," He instructed me as he was thinking again in his head with deep concentration.

"I don't have enough energy," I reassured him in a rough tone now as I was seeing where he was going with that, "I need…shit."

"What do you need. Come on. Tell me, Marley," He urged me as he looked like he was about to cry from how he was not able to help me there in that moment.

"I need a burst of energy…or feeling," I explained, though I knew he was thinking how I healed myself before in the stairwell. Did he think I could do it again and it was way enough? I barely had enough energy to just breathe and to blink, and trying to heal myself alone would knock me out again.

"Okay, I have an idea. Just…don't slap me for doin' this," He said in a grunt as I looked at him in confusion.

"Do wha—" he leaned down, within a second and it threw me for a loop, and he kissed me there with the darkness of what could be our tomb. His lips pressed into mine, not in a way that was demanding to force, but it wasn't soft either. It was a real sense that he was sealing something there on my lips. I instantly felt it all at once, but in a good way and in a scary manner. I thought back to when we first kissed when we were seventeen when we had nothing else to really fear and nothing else to look at in the future. It felt like the same thing: nothing else was holding us back and nothing was threatening to take us apart either. We were stuck there, in the middle of God knows what, and we were kissing.

This kiss felt different, it was seeping into my pores and electrifying all that was inside of me to wake up, maybe thinking that I was asleep and now I was finally able to live and breathe. The jolt went down my spine, tenfold, it wasn't like the feeling I would get before when I would heal. This was more intense, a raw healing that was happening but that was beyond good at the same time. it was almost feeling like a drug that was in my blood that I couldn't get enough of, and it was from the pure aura that Chato was giving me in that kiss.

And the kiss itself, it was everything I remember and better. It was the fire sense that I was feeling under my skin, thinking all over me and having me feel hot and dizzy at the same time. But now, since my own emotions were feeling raw, it was better and almost addicting at the same time. It felt so good to at least be with him again, and now kidding him could send me to the moon of it could.

My back was tingling then, the healing was starting there and I could feel my wings at least trying to get better and the scares there along my skin were melting away like butter. The one thing that was not healing all the way was my back, where my wings were, which meant that it was beyond serious for me to not have my wings be fully healed just yet.

Chato pulled away, taking his own big breath as he was looking at me with wide eyes, just like he did when he was seventeen. It was as if he was panicked about doing that to me. Ne energy was brought back to me there, no longer r feeling sluggish or out of it since it was like a fire was burning inside of me and was now coming out since we both went down in the fire.

"Did that help?" He asked me almost sheepishly, my smile was growing from this new thing that we did together. I squeezed our hands together there, feeling the blood on my hand smear into his own hand there almost like an imprint.

"More than you know," I said to him now in a bolder tone, no longer sounding or feeling weak about it. He gave me a small smile there too from ear to ear. He pulled me over a bit to where the side was. He looked up, wondering how low we were in that hole that we were stuck in.

"How far down are we?" I asked him, trying to move again and feeling a bit better now. I moved to get my feet down on something to plant them and I could stand up. I looked up too, getting both my hair and my blood from my wound near my eye away from my vision.

"Can't tell," He replied as he looked over at me, "How are your wings?"

"Not strong enough to carry the both of us," I admitted, seeing they were in it pretty deep enough. There had to be another way for us to at least get out of there, climbing out would be sketchy and almost impossible. I could hear something going on up there, shouting and rain pouring down from somewhere there and then…..it all stopped.

Nothing was heard.

Something moved above us, the both of us staying still thinking that we didn't know that figure there and it could be some kind of set up. I didn't know twinge of fear there on my face there as the figure tilted his head at me now in wonder and in curiosity. They had to be at least 500 feet above us, and once I heard him talk, I knew we were safe.

"Hey, I found her!" It was Croc.

"Where is she?" Flag asked from somewhere in the distance, sounding a bit desperate there as I felt Chato squeeze my hand there within his own, both as a sign of comfort and to support me from falling. I feeling stronger then, and not just from the Grace that came through the kiss. it was the kiss itself.

Chato made me stronger.

"She ain't alone. Homeboy's alive," Croc reported to him as he started to climb down with ease and with his claws going into the rubble there against the wall.

"Diablo's alive?!" Harley asked in a shock as Croc was getting lower and lower to us. Once he was slow enough, he cocked his head at the both of us, having his own fair share of scrapes there along with his reptile skin and fatigue. But he looked glad to see us.

"You're a crazy bitch, shorty." He said to me, holding out one of his massive claws at me for me to grab him. I looked at Chato, already feeling bad the I was going to leave him behind.

"Go, I'm right behind you," He reassured me, having me look back at Croc and then move over a bit to him. Although the kiss was enough for me to move around and to get to him, I was still in too much pain from the explosion and the blast. Croc picked me up with ease as if I was a loaf of bread in his hand. He wrapped one arm around me, around my lower back and I tried to cling onto him as I squinted in pain, "Careful, man. She's injured."

"I got ya," Croc said to me as he started to climb with one hand and the other was wrapped around me. I was stuck to him as we were ascending, though I looked back down at Chato now, seeing him watch us leave him there in that pit. For some reason, I wasn't sad leaving him, since we were going to get him soon. I was happy, happy that the both of us were going to be alive at the end of this.

"Holy shit," Boomerang said in surprise as Croc crawled the both of us out of the hole, holding me close with ease now as we landed on his own two feet in front of the group again, having me sigh in relief now as I saw each of their faces. They looked relieved to see me, not to mention out of breath and almost worn out. It made me panic, looking around and still in Croc's arms.

"The witch?" I asked them, thinking that she was still around.

"She's gone. We got rid of her," Flag mentioned from his spot in the back, someone was hiding behind him. I watched, seeing a small head poke around the corner from behind him and she looked nervous. It was a young woman, covered in black mud or something of that nature. The way she stayed close to Flag, and how Flag had an arm out to block her, I knew.

It was the woman that he talked about. He loved her.

"You look like hell," Deadshot said to me carefully now as Croc was unwinding his arm from being around me.

"I'll get Diablo," Croc informed the group, walking away from us and moving back over to the large hole. I turned to look at the hole as he went down into the darkness again, seeing the massive hole there in the ground. It was odd and almost an unsettling since both Chato and I were there mere moments before at the hands of the Being that we thought was going to kill us. The bomb made it all change I guess. It almost made my stomach drop to the floor.

I finally stood on my own, trying to get my own balance together as his eyes went wide, as well as the others. They were spooked by something there that was on me, or at least on my back. They were watching me, and it made me worry since I was looking all over me to see what was wrong. Was a bone poking out, or more blood than what they were thinking with me?

"What's wrong?" I asked them then, seeing nothing there on my front to show that I was in a serious condition. But then it clicked, none of them saying a word and I slowly reached behind me and with hesitant touched the top of my bone from my skin. It hurt like hell to reach over there, and once I touched the bones there I knew. They knew and I knew.

My wings were severed.

"Your wings…..oh honey," Harley said in a sad tone there as I heard from behind me Croc and Chato coming up from the hole there, and I said quietly. I could have known something like this was going to happen if I made the sacrifice. But now, my wings? I know that it could have been worse since I could be dead there, and Chato too. However, even with the small amount of time that I had them for me when I needed them, I felt sorrow for the loss of my wings.

Almost like I was in mourning.

"You okay?" Boomerang asked me tentatively as I heard someone walking up behind me, having me close my eyes from the physical and emotional pain that I was feeling. Croc walked past me then, not saying a word as I was feeling a couple of tears hit my cheeks there. I shouldn't be sad that I was alive, but I was. The wings were a good part of me that I might have taken for granted in the past.

"Marley, come here," Chato said to me now as he would see me almost crumpling there, a true first since I joined the group. I didn't want them to see me like this now, but as he wrapped his arms around me carefully to avoid the damaged part of my shoulders and pull me into his embrace. Again, no one said anything that he did this, which already had me assume that they knew about the both of us and the were fine with it. They caught on, and this time I was no really concerned.

"You are an Angel, and a badass one too," Deadshot said in a confident tone there, having me open my eyes there as he said it. He looked serious, not joking around with me as Harley smirked at me too, agreeing with him. No one was showing anything different, and it felt nice enough that I had people behind me and making me feel a bit better about losing my wings, yet the pain was still there.

"I don't feel badass," I mumbled, almost wanting to get all of these emotions out of me there as Chato was still holding me close to his own body as support.

"We'll get you some help," he reassured me softly as he felt warm against me.

"Good to see you alive."

I shot a look over to where I could hear that voice, thinking that she was dead and along gone by now. No one else looked surprised, except Chato and I there as we both saw her. Amanda Waller. She was alive and well, though banged up herself there and she looked at the both of us there with that same look of determination there on her face.

I saw the others in the room look down and away, already seemed serious about something since she was brought into the conversation. I stayed close to Chato, feeling not move and inch as she spoke up again.

"You surprised me, Marley," She said to me in a huff, but my eyes were going down to the phone in her hand and I could seeker thumb was there on the surface of the phone. Our mugshots were still there, still active in showing that she was in still in control and at any moment the bomb would go off and she would still win. Her thumb was right over my picture.

"I already held up my end of the deal, so it's time to hold up yours," I reminded her hoarsely since my energy was weaving in and out. She cocked her head at me as if she didn't understand.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're still a prisoner and you still work for me," She reminded me, but I shook my head.

"I was sent to help your team with this mission, and I did that. I spared one of your members here from death, isn't that enough?" I asked her, trying to remain a bit calm there and not blow up all over again like I did with her on the rooftop hours before. She was thinking about it, having me remember back to when Flag told us about the witch and my true intentions on being on the team. Not only to help the team but to be the martyr for her in order to have her image to look better. She was going to kill me either way, whether I wanted it or not.

"You told me once not to underestimate you and your kind, Miss Kelso," She said to me, raising the phone there and Chato got the sense at what she was going to do. He instantly pushed me behind him, the others standing in a rigid manner, also catching on. They knew I was going to be killed there and she could do it at any second.

"Now you're going to underestimate me," She stated.

"I won't let you do it," Chato wanted her in a growl, keeping me away from her and I clutched close to him. Croc growled in a warning to her as he took a step over to me with his reptile eyes on her. Even Boomerang reached down to grab his weapon there in his hand, staring at Amanda with anger.

"You bitch," Harley said in a snarl, gripping her bat extra tight.

"I won't either," Flag said to her now as he was giving her a death glare "It ain't right. She did what you wanted her to do." Boomerang at that point walked over to stand next to Chato too, almost in a defensive way now as one of his own boomerangs was in his hand, ready for her to make the first move.

"It's not your choice," Amanda snapped at him now, still keeping her eyes on me. I closed my eyes, thinking that at any moment she was going to push the button and I was going to die there in front of my new friends and comrades. This was not how I wanted this to be, then again, I didn't know how I wanted it to be anymore since everything felt messed up and screwed around.

"You will do no such thing,"

The voice was deep and booming, all of us stopping and looked over to where we could hear it. I knew that voice, I knew it so well since it was the same voice that carried me. I shot my eyes opened and looked where the stairs were in the terminal, seeing a long lost friend there that I wanted to see since I was on this mission.

Jacob.

"Oh shit," Deadshot said as he moved away in a jolt, Harley next to him. Everyone moved, except Chato and I as I saw Jacob walking over to where I was. HIs wings were out jet black and folded into his back there as he was eyeing Amanda with death in his eyes. She as frozen from seeing him there as he almost glided over to where Amanda and stayed so still. Katana was about to have her sword drawn in defense, but one look from Jacob stopped her, having me stay still in intimidation from him.

"You're not going to kill her," Jacob said to her, his voice reminding calm but I could tell he was meaning what he said. He snapped his fingers once, the phone in Amanda's hand flew out o her hand without her realizing it and it slid on the ground over to his foot. He leaned down, picking it up in his hand and looking at it like it was a curious artifact. Everyone in the room looked surprised that he did it like it was natural to him, which it was. He tucked it away in his pocket of raincoat. I could feel Chato scooting a bit closer to me now as Amanda finally found her voice.

"Who are you?" She asked him, Jacob then giving her a small smile there as she asked that. It was such an obvious question that she hung there in the air.

"You really need to ask that?" Flag asked her now as he was keeping she wide eyes on Jacob, who looked over at me now. I saw his eyes go to my back where my wings were, seeing them almost shattered to splints there and he then looked right at me. I saw his pain there, the pain that he was feeling because of my wings being gone there and no longer in use for the time being. He experienced it, because of his link to me as another Angel.

"What do you want with her?" Amanda asked him now as Jacob gave me a small smile, not only for the others to see but for me too see as well.

"I'm here to help her, as I did for years before now," Jacob explained as he was still keeping his eyes on me with a fondness there in his gaze.

"She's still a prisoner under my protection," Amanda was about to explained as Jacob then looked over at her, stopping her in her tracks from speaking anymore. I never saw Amanda both starstruck and petrified then I did there with him in her presence.

"What makes you think you can stop an Angel from anything?" He asked, almost coyly now as no one moved and slowly looked her that. She said nothing again, feeling defeated in the conversation with him, "I was the one who gave her to you, and you treat her like a lamb going to slaughter. And for what? For your own accomplishment?"

Damn.

"Shit," Chato said behind me now as he heard the same thing. Jacob slowly pointed at me as he was locking his eyes with Amanda and not backing down from the death glare that he was giving her. He gave me that look in the past as I could tell he was going to show Amanda more of himself that what he would want to.

"She's not yours to keep. And if you try to defy me, I know more of your skeletons in your closet that I know you would pray to God that would never surface again. I would advise you, never to stand in the way of an Angel," Jacob explained to her coolly and without remorse. I knew that was a threat, and it was a deadly one since he pulled a card on Amanda that she didn't want to be played. It was then that Harley carefully raised her hand up in the air,

"Excuse me, your Holiness," She said in a timid tone. Jacob looked over at her now, lowering his pointed finger at me and folding his hands in front of him to look at her in politeness, "See…I think we grew to like her and all…she's our friend. I wanna see her again, you know?"

I looked at her too, hearing the genuine tone of her voice as she said that and looked at Jacob with a somber look. Was that the truth from her? I felt a warm there spread to my heart as even Deadshot smiled from the thought of Harley and Croc growled in approval. Jacob only grinned at her then from hearing the innocence in her voice.

"I'm not taking her away forever," He reassured her, "Only to let her heal," I looked over at Chato, sensing that we were once again going to be separated. I didn't want to leave him, not like this when there was some kind of tug of war going on for my own sake and my own life.

"You can't—" Amanda was trying once more, but Jacob already looked annoyed. He threw out one finger at her, her voice was gone and it sounded like she as trying to speak. Nothing came out of her mouth, and the rest of the group looked both pleased that she as silenced.

"Thank you," Boomerang said in relief, though Amanda glared at him as he placed his boomerang back in his jacket.

"Marley," Jacob said to me, having me slowly look back at him now and see him watch me carefully as I was still close enough to Chato. He looked at Chato then too, knowing how he was without saying a word. I knew he knew, and he knew how I felt about Chato.

"I won't separate you two. I promise," He simply reported, having me sigh out in both relief and in satisfaction. I fulfilled my mission finally: and it felt like from there on out things would go back to being simple again. Chato snuck in a kiss in my hair there, without my realizing it and seeing the warmth not only from him but from most of the others there in the room. There was no longer the fear that we were gong to be apart.

But all that matters was that we were both safe.


	13. Chapter 13

"Pain level, from one to ten,"

"The same as it was five hours ago."

"So…still 12 then?"

"Yes, now please don't shine that in my eyes. I'm not a lab rat."

I was laying on my side, facing the Doctor there as he was again writing within my file there as I was clutching the bar there of my medical bed, the pain was seeping through my bones and making it feel like I was on fire. I groaned out the pain and the feeling, thinking that it was the only thing that I could do there and just let the pain happen.

My wings were healing themselves.

Jacob warned me that it would hurt like hell, Angel wings take some time to heal. It would take hours, almost like how a starfish would lose a leg and then it would come back soon enough. The same method was for us, but since I was half human, the healing itself for the wings to grow back would take four times as long and would three times as painful. It was the downfall of this whole thing, and I had to stay on my side and give my back room and space for the wings to grow back through. So I was stuck in one position for hours and hours on end, which was killing me and making my back feel like it was on fire.

Since Jacob silence Amanda, literally, I was taken back to one of the hospitals out of Mid-Way City. We were in New Orleans, out near Belle Reeve that was about 20 minutes away if you took a car. One of the doctors was a Fallen Angel himself, assigned to help the hospital and the people inside. Jacob assigned him to me, Dr. Jones.

"Let me know how you're feeling in a few hours. I'll make sure you have the proper care and privacy that you need," He explained to me as he looked at my file over to me. He had a handsome face about him too, smooth skin and his hair combed back though shaved on the sides. He again looked around my age, if not older. I nodded, not saying anything now as he stood there for a moment or two, having something on his mind as he finally spoke up.

"You know, word got around about you," He explained, having em finally look up at him now as he was looking at me in the eyes and I sensed his own Aura and energy seeping out of him onto me, "You were the one who helped those criminals in the prison not too far from here. That makes courage, what you did."

"Jacob thought I could handle it," I explained, squeezing through the pain once more as it was coming back over me. The doctor reached over, placing his bare hand near my shoulder blade where my wing was trying to repair itself. I breathed out peace there from his hand touching me, the pain was melting away like butter for a few seconds as he was trying to take some of the agony and the tension away from the process.

"I think you handled it well. Takes a unique Fallen Angel to do something like that and stay good," He advised me as more of the pain was coming off of me and onto him. I knew he was right: Fallen Angels were either good or bad. We still were human and Free Will was still part of our DNA, so it was up to us what we were going to do with the Free Will God gave us. If I was any other Angel, I would have gone back from being with them from the aura that they were giving out. But I stayed good, I stayed constant. Was that supposed to be some kind of great accomplishment that I went through?

He released his hand, but I felt sleepier then and no longer having the fiery pain. The pain was due now, enough for me wanting to pass out and get some rest there in the bed. He walked away having em slowly close my eye and have the feeling like I was flying again through the skies of Los Angeles. I remembered how it felt to be free and to fly, how I was cutting through the clouds like a knife in butter, and feeling the wind against my skin in hopes to cool me down and keep me alert.

Better to dream than to live in reality.

* * *

Chato's POV

"You're letting me see her?"

"Yes, I am, against my own judgment."

"Why are you doing this?"

"You want me to answer that, or just let you keep the cuffs on?" Flag was standing next to me, watching as Waller was uncuffing me from my regular handcuffs that they would use me, my eyes were still drilling her and seeing the uncertain look on her face as to how she was doing this without a second thought to it. It was late in the evening, the first clue that this was not a usual visit as It gout it was going to be. Secondly, it was just weird enough that Waller was thinking this through and not trying to get her hands on Marley.

I wasn't going to let her do that. Both myself and that Angel dude named Jacob.

"You'll get two hours for visiting her, after that I can set up a schedule for you," Since she was silenced by that Angel, something in her head was warped, like she was spooked from seeing a real Angel there in front of her and who pretty much made her feel and seem lower than dirt. It was her ego that went out, and whens omen snuffs out our ego, it hurts like hell trying to bring it back up.

That Angel took it like it was a simple pickpocket move.

"Flag will be your escort, and he'll let me know if anything does happen, I won't be thinking twice to put your ass back in your tank." She reminded me as the cuffs were back on me and my hands were hanging there at my side, looking at Flag there as he eyed me there with an awkwardness within the room since she was taking this both seriously and yet not sounding like herself like how we were used to.

"Thanks," I said to her in an almost warm manner, but once I said it I saw her move directly in front of me, a serious look was plastered on her mug of a face.

"Don't think that I'm not thinking of trying to find a way to get in contact with Marley again," She said it like a warning to me since it was assumed by her that I was going to stay close to Marley. Was she trying to scare me? I could only glare at her then, not swayed by what she was telling me and trying to seep under my skin.

"I think me being with Marley should be the least of your worries," I said to her, not wanting it to come out as a threat at all but as some kind of statement that she should remember when it comes to what I feel for her. I already lost her once and I thought it was the end of it all, and now it was going to take more than a bitchy lady with a badge to stop me from being with her. She said nothing, of course, she would keep her mouth shut. Inside, I was grinning so big.

The bitch needs to stay quiet.

* * *

"She's in there, but she's dozing in and out from the medicine," The doctor explained to both Flag and myself as we were outside her room at the hospital. It was late in the night by that point and there was barely anyone around there going up and down the hallways. it felt off being there with just Flag as my guard.

"She's okay, though?" Flag asked for me since I couldn't find the right words for the whole thing in my own head. I looked at the doctor there directly, seeing him look very calm and collected about the whole thing. Something about him felt…off. Like it wasn't like any of the other doctors that I have known in the past.

"Marley's recovering, and her wings are coming back slowly. However, it's a painful process and it takes time. She'll be needing more support than what others can go through," The doctor explained to the both of use still seeming kind and calm enough. There was a sense of… I don't even know what it was. But it made me feel safe being around him like nothing was really going to go bad. Was he…he couldn't be like her.

Could he?

"After you," He said to the both of us, Flag looking at me now and giving me a solid nod as I saw him open the door for me to go through. I gave the doctor one last look, getting the same feeling of peace all over me again now like I dd before when I would be around Marley from time to time. He was a Fallen Angel after all, but I didn't have the heart to call him out as I looked into the dim room and saw the darkness within.

The monitor was giving off her heartbeat, some kind of respirator was heard it with faint but soft breathing. He bed was right in the middle, machines were around her and chipping away as I could hear her breathing in an oxygen mask there, curled up to the side there and facing me with her eyes close and resting against the pillow. She looked so small there within her bed, her legs almost folded up to her chest and her arms out, hands holding the bars there in front of her in a vice grip.

It was killing me on the inside to see her like that, trying to at least breathe was bad enough and she looked different. I walked in slowly, Flag closing the door behind the both of us as I was getting closer and closer, not liking what I was seeing with her being there and breathing in pain. It was hurting my own heart there because of how she almost killed herself to just protect me. It wasn't right at all. Flag moved to stand in the corner, maybe giving the both of us space there in silence.

She breathed out a deep breath, but she was groaning in pain from doing it. Without thinking, I moved over within an instant as she tried to shift a bit in the bed. I went into the chair there, sitting close enough to see her fingers gripping the holder there on her bed in a death grip as her breath sounded do hard for her to just get through the next few seconds.

"Hey…hey I'm here." I started to whisper to her in a soft tone since it felt like she needed to hear it more from me than anything. She breathed again, almost fluttering her eyes open from hearing my words and I touched her fingers with my own in hopes that it would help her, "I'm right here Marley. I got ya."

Her eyes found my own first. I lost my breath for a second at how bright they were and glossed over from the tears that she was feeling. She looked lost as she was staring at me, thinking that this was a joke in her head as she blinked a few times slowly. I could barely see that she was smiling with the mask over her mouth, but I could tell she was grinning.

"Hey you," I said to her with a soft smile, stroking her fingers softly and she was breathing smoothly again, almost like I was the reason for that.

"You're here," She said behind her mask, her voice sounding raspy.

"Course I am. I don't wanna be anywhere else," I reassured her, seeing the small smile there again now. That mask was in my way, but I knew she needed it, "How are you feeling."

"Worse than my first tattoo that we got when I was 16," She explained to me as I chuckled a bit at that memory. We were young and a bit stupid at the same time.

"We were stupid then, weren't we?" I asked her, trying to get her mind off of what was going on with her. She laughed too, very softly with her mask over her face. But within a second of laughing, I saw her squinting again in pain from the movement in her back. I felt bad then, thinking that I was making it worse than better.

"How bad is it?" I asked her carefully, seeing him say nothing now as she shook her head from the thought. I got up a bit there, leaning over her to see her back and what was going on back there. Along the part of her upper back near her shoulder blades, I could see some of her severed wings trying to stay still there. Some bones were noticed and a few of her old feathers were still attached, but it was mostly muscles and bones. To be honest, the sight reminded me of a horro movie.

"It's supposed to look like that," She said in a wheezy manner through her mask, making me look back at her now from my spot hovering over her body. She was watching me there as I was looking at her wings. Was she waiting to see how I was going to react to her wings? Was she going to think I was scared to see it? I saw the worry on her face and I knew that look well. I didn't want that for Marley.

I leaned over to her forehead, pressing my own kiss there and holding it for awhile since it felt like the right thing to do. She was cold to the touch, not warm like how I remembered as I moved from her and touched her face to get the hair from her eyes.

"You're still the little girl that helped me hide a candy bar," I reminded her as she as still breathing out a wheezy breath and watched me like a hawk, "Don't think I'm gonna turn away from you now." I could feel one of her hands move from the bar and touch my arm there that was close to her face gripping it lightly and having me grin at her as she talked.

"How long do you have until you go back?" She asked me, making me look over at Flag who was still in the corner. He probably watched the whole thing happening and he didn't say a word about it.

"He has two hours to be here with you, Marley," Flag explained to her, my eyes going back to her as she grimaced a bit now as I sat back down at the chair to be eye level with her now. I held our hands together and I didn't want to even let go of her again.

"I wanna just talk, the both of us, okay?" I asked her, seeing her study my face, "We need to catch up on the years we…..we weren't together. I wanna hear where you went, what you did…. I wanna know everything." It was true, all that time that she was gone and I had no clue where she was. There were times in the past, even with Grace and the kids, I thought of Marley and where she would have been in the moments when I remembered her. I never forgot her, not once when we were apart. It hurt me that we weren't together in those years, and it felt lonely from time to time. But now that she was there, barely alive but alive still, I wanted to savor it all. Second by second.

She nodded her head, having me grin at her and hearing her breathing steady once again.

That was a start for us for certain.


	14. Chapter 14

I rolled my shoulders over and over, getting the new sensation in repeat as I was getting my wings to move around with ease. After resting on my side for hours on end, it felt much so good to get my muscles working again and Jacob watching me from afar at the other side of the room with the Dr. Jones in front of me to watch my wings.

They were back to normal.

It's been at least 4 days since my wings came back to normal and grew back. It took a lot of pain and a lot of breathing exercises for me to at least bear with the pain and the stress of it all. But I was reassured that the process was going well, thanks to Dr. Jones and his own healing powers on me. It all worked well in the end, and I had a new pair of wings to work with.

Chato stayed with me that night when he came to visit, and I told him everything. It felt to get it off my chest and to let him know where I went and what I did with myself. He listened to the whole thing, through the good things and the bad things that I had to confess to him. I wondered how much he was willing to listen to and be fine with, and the more I told him and more worried I was getting that he wouldn't take it. But he did, he took all of it was so supportive about it. I felt like I didn't deserve someone like him at all, who was willing to take on the baggage as his own and not just me by myself.

"They look normal," Dr. Jones explained as I folded my wings back against my back and I walked over to the pair of them, "They'll still be growing little by little so be prepared for some discomfort," I looked over at him then over to Jacob to see him watching me in silence. I was wondering what he would say about this since he's been with me when I started here in the hospital. He was the one that so close as my guardian and mentor that it might have scared him that my wings were severed off of me.

"Jacob?" I asked him tentatively.

"They look healthy," He said to me carefully as he walked over to where my wings were along my back, having em stay still as I could feel his eyes were on my the whole time, "I thought of the worst for you from what happened. I will be honest, Marley. I thought you would have died,"

"I did too," I replied to him calmly, "But I needed to make sure Chato was still alive."

"Did you?" He asked me, in which I looked over my shoulder at him.

"Was that not why I was placed on the team? To help him?" I asked, not wanting to sound like I was confused about it but wanting to sound more casual about the situation. I thought that was the whole plan, for me to help him and get him back on his own path. At least, I thought it was the real reason.

"Not only him but to help the others for not dying," Jacob explained calmly as he finally walked over to stand in front of me again, having me study his face. He looked cool and collective when he said it, and I wanted to pick his brain some more now since we were there together and Dr. Jones somehow snuck out of the door without saying a single word about it.

"They're not actual Saints, Jacob," I reminded him.

"Yes, but they are still humans who are seen as those who can see the goodness in the world after seeing so much darkness." Jacob countered back, having me think about it in my head for a few seconds. He not only wanted me to save Chato, but to save the others but from what? Their own humanity? It seemed as though that in itself would be far from possible because of how thy were hardwired in their brain. But I learned to trust in hope since hope could take a person a long way in life.

It might be the same way for them.

* * *

Two days later, Harley Quinn broke out of the prison with the help of a group of people who were impersonating the swat soldiers at Belle Reeve. At first, we didn't know who it was and who did it, but we later found out the other person who we thought we got rid of in the end was the one who took her, who cheated death yet again.

The Joker.

Sure they sucked since I barely got to know her from our one mission together, but I could sense that she had some great sense of life within her, a good heart too even in times where it seemed that she didn't.

Since I had no real sense of a place to call home, I had a good feeling that I needed to find a place to stay. I found a small place outside of New Orleans that was bad enough, yet in other's eyes, it seemed like a shack of a loft that I found in an ad. But compared to living on the streets, it was fine for me to have things simple and small. I filled the place with succulents to liven it up, along with old pictures that I found from the thrift shop and simple furniture.

The succulents were mostly for Chato.

The only downer of it all was that Chato was still considered a prisoner and he was still going to be at the prison. Visit hours would be awkward since Amanda Waller and I were still not on the greatest of terms when it came to being civil with one another. But the more missions that Chato would go on with the team, the shorter his prison sentence would be.

As dangerous as it sounded and seemed, I was going to pray that he was going to be okay.

The others wanted me to visit them, not just Chato. It felt off for me to miss them and want to visit them during the visiting hours that were there for them, but then again I never had a real friend group to call my own growing up. But I did visit when I knew Amanda was not going to be there just to avoid getting that bullet in the head. They were all still prisoners, I knew that, but they treated me like an old friend. Maybe that was one of those times they needed that would brighten up their days: a visit from an old friend.

A visit from an Angel.

* * *

"Fallen Angels have been more prone to violence int he recent months than ever before since they've gone public. The police and even the FBI is looking into the investigation of the crimes that are piling up against the metahuman species. Some are under the speculation that it is a mass species attack and there is even talk amongst the authorities to have the Fallen Angels registered and watched under supervision,"

I was watching in silence on my couch there at my loft, seeing the news that popped on late in that night. There was a shot of a Fallen Angel being locked away in a prison, looking more evil in the eye than I thought someone would.

It was sinking in my stomach, how Fallen Angels were not being seen as the enemy more than being seen as friends and good metahumans. What was this going to mean for us int he future? The way it sounded there on the news, Fallen Angels were going to be hunted down.

"Was this what you thought we were going to be out here in the world?" I asked aloud in the room, seeing none other than Jacob appear out of the corner of my eye as he was looking at the screen at well, a serious look on his own face with the bright TV screen illuminating off his face.

"If I tell you, you wouldn't believe me," he replied calmly now as the anchorman was going on with another story. I looked over at him, once again stumped at what was going on in his head.

"What does this mean for us, for me?" I asked him, watching him move to look out the window there and not say a word for a moment or two. He had to know since he knew about me helping the Suicide Squad and being back with Chato again. He was full of wisdom and surprises that one, and I would never be bale to know enough to be satisfied.

"I need you to still be the good Fallen Angel that you are," He instructed me, this time I was going to stay quiet about the whole thing and not question him about it, "There will be Fallen Angels that will defy their true nature of good. They have chosen their own earthly desires against what was part of their destiny, and they will try to find those who are good and bring them to darkness." He looked over at me when he said this, and I realized that he was warning me. I was going to be a target for some of these rogue Angels since they were going to try and spread the evil in the world and not the goodness that they were supposed to do. It was all getting twisted in the head, and now I had to be prepared.

"I'm going to have to fight one, aren't I?" I asked him in a low tone, to which I nodded his head slowly and I looked ahead at the TV again, having that sinking feeling that even my on life was out of my control, again. This time it was no longer a thought of protecting other people, but now it was about protecting myself.

Was I able to do it?

"You have fought before," Jacob reminded me, but I was shaking my head.

"Not a Fallen. I've fought humans before, back when I wasn't in the right state of mind," I countered with my own reminder to him of my past.

"You know you can handle yourself, Marley. I have seen the goodness in you, and it will help you when the time will come," Jacob explained as he walked over to sit down next to me, "Fallen Angels have more strength within them than they give themselves credit for."

"And you think I'm one of those?" I asked him, trying not to sound pathetic and low hearted but I had to know from his side what he thought of me. Jacob has known me for so long that it was silly to just think of myself when I knew he had the best interest in me.

"I think you're a far greater Angel than you think you are. Trust me, all is well with you."

* * *

"You got these plants?"

"They remind me of you."

"Since when?"

"Since you used to get me those for my birthday all the time," I grinned when I said this while Chato was holding up one of the succulents that I had there on the windowsill, a small smirk that was on his own face. He had another visitation hour there, but this time, it was at my loft. He's been on plenty of missions with the group that got him more visitation with me, much to the dismay of Amanda and what the rules were. He was very close to being out for good since he's being doing so good with his own time there in the prison, which made me happy since I felt like he never belonged there in the first place.

I could see him slowly move over to each potted plant there on the windowsill, analyzing them in silence as I finally leaned against the wall, just drinking him in. It might have looked odd to just watch him there as he looked at each plant like he was at peace. Maybe he needed the space outside of prison, outside of the four walls and that take that he was placed in by none other than Amanda herself.

"What are ya lookin' at?" I was brought back from my thoughts when Chato was looking right at me, a coy smile was on his face there as I shook my head and stay still.

"Just you," I replied calmly, seeing him walk over to me to stand very close to me, close enough for me to almost feel the heat radiate off of him. It almost gave me some butterflies in how close he was and how he was staying there, almost giving me some kind of gravitational pull to him without me realizing it. He had that affect on me, even after years being apart from each other it still felt fresh and new.

"I've missed you," He said to me, making it sound simple as he reached out to touch the inside of my wrist with his fingers. His tattoos moved with his skin, almost putting me a trance when I saw them there and what he was doing to me. I watched him as he did this, not wanting to say a word and lose this kind of comfortable silence that we were having there together, "I just miss….being here with you and being around you all the time."

"I do too," I reassured him as he was inching a bit closer. I could smell the unique scent that he had on him and almost the smell of the moisture from the air when he came over in the cop car, thanks for Flag himself who brought him in. It felt like we were seventeen again, how we were young and almost wild for each other but not knowing how to respond to it, "You were always the first one for me."

"Really?" He asked me, already close enough for me to feel the small since of a cliff that I was trying so hard not to jump into when it came to him. He had that hold on me, whether I liked it or not. I could see him move his eyes rapidly back and forth between my eyes and on my lips, almost trying to make a decision in my head.

"You sound surprised," I said in a joking way, almost giving a nervous laugh there between the both of us. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he leaned over to kiss me square in the mouth. I breathed out through my nose before kissing him back, without thinking about it since it was making me wish that I could kiss him forever. I have forgotten this feeling within my own chest, the feeling of love there for him and how he was loving me back. The kiss alone with so simple and sweet at the same time, both of his arms were slowly going around me and pulling me very close to him and feeling the hard chest that he had.

Something snapped, really snapped within me that didn't care how awkward this would be int he ends, but I didn't care as the kiss was getting more and more heated as it was lasting longer and longer there. I didn't want this to end, not since I missed having him this close to me. The human side of me was telling me that this was right, that this needed to happen. He wrapped both of his arms closer around me and got me flushed against him as I was feeling a warmth running through me quickly and effectively.

"Goddamnit," He said against my lips as I moved us away from the window over to where the couch was, falling down on it as I was on his lap there and we kissed some more. It was all of those pent up feelings hat we wanted to use on each other since we were apart, and it had to be overcome in that moment since there was no other time in the future we figured. I didn't care, all the I cared about was Chato in my arms and how he was almost turning me into mush. The aura that he was having was both of affection and lust at the same time, and now it was wrapping around me to engulfing me in way more emotion that I was ready for.

His own lips descended over to my neck, open mouthed kisses there and having me tumble there against him as I was trying to hold onto the back of his neck and the couch as some kind of support from feeling like jello.

I pulled his head up to look right at me, seeing the way his eyes were wide and glazed over with the pupils dilated to almost making his eyes look beyond black. I was lost in my own breath, knowing that I did that to him. I didn't want this to be taken too far, we weren't there just yet in my own mind. I just leaned down to kiss him sweetly on the lips. I wanted this to be slow and good, not rushed or some kind of act that we both would regret. He framed my face in his hands, kissing me back just a sweetly and slowly as that warmth was becoming hotter and more intense. This was what I missed, and I regretted it when I knew we could have had this for years and years.

I pulled away from him again, feeling the sense of sadness I had there from the thought of leaving him behind in the past. I saw the tattoo of his deceased wife, Grace, there on his chest and it made me stop. This didn't feel right, it felt like I was pushing it to a limit that was to even close to being normal since he lost not only his wife but his two children. And here I was kissing him like we were teenagers again. This was not what I wanted. It was made me feel though my heart was breaking, having me shake my head over and over now as Chato was looking at me in worry as I was almost about to be in tears.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you…" I whispered in a broken tone as he caressed my face with his fingers, "I left you behind and we could have…we could had this sooner."

"Marley…hey look at me," he said to me in his own hushed whisper, having me look at him as his fingers touched my cheeks. I could see warmth in his eyes as he was scanning my own eyes and seeing the raw feeling that I was experiencing. I didn't know if it was pent up feelings of needing to be near him or the anger that I tried to bury that I had against myself, but it was all happening now with me kissing Chato in his lap in my loft.

"I don't care about what happened back then with you and me," He explained to me, sensing my fear and insecurity there since it did feel too fast, "I'm fine right here with you, and I don't want to be anywhere else." I had to believe him when he told me that, I had to think that he knew what he was talking about. So I had to move with this, with him now since we were trying to pick up where we left off. I just didn't want to be the one who made him forget about the family be had when I was gone, that was a blessing in his life. I was not going to snuff that out of him.

"You know, I didn't forget how good you are at kissing," he reasoned with me, trying to change the subject there as I slowly smiled at him, feeling a bit better since he was not shying away from what I did to him.

"I had plenty of practice," I said in a coy manner, though now he raised his eyes there and he grinned at me widely like was coy with me again.

"Should I be jealous?" He asked me as he leaned over to kiss me again there on the couch and I could feel his hands moving to my lower back there and almost touching my skin as I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning over him now as I peered down at him and licked my lips. He kissed me softly again, having me hate the human side of me again.

Damn.

* * *

It's been about a month since my wings repaired themselves and I got back on my own two feet when I had a nightmare about Angels fighting. Not just a verbal fight, but a huge fight of them flying in the sky and soaring through the clouds while trying to kill each other. It was violent and almost deadly, and it felt like I couldn't help but look when I wanted to look away. I didn't know if it was a sign for something to come or something that did happen in the past, but it was not a great feeling when I woke up from the nightmare.

 _Marley…Marley….go to the prison…they need you._

The phone rang, having me reach over to see that someone was trying to call me. I looked on the top, seeing Rick Flag's name there on the screen as I grabbed it and turned it on. Already I could hear some kind of fighting going on in the background. Something was happening and it was not good at all. It made me panic.

"Marley. I need your help," Flag said into the phone, someone screaming out int he background and the sound of something being moved fast in the air. Almost like the sound of….oh shit.

Wings. A Fallen Angel was at the prison.

* * *

I landed on the ground gently, my toes touching the floor and having me look at the prison with shock there on my face. There was a large hole on the side of the prison up near the roof, and the sound of fighting was heard from that opening. I knew that it was an Angle since nothing else really could make that kind of damage there. It made me beyond scared that the others there in the prison were hurt, maybe even dead.

Oh God, not Chato.

 _Run…run now!_

I bolted, hearing Jacob's voice there as I spread out my wings there and scooped into the sky, making my way over to that area there and hearing more gunshots going out in the air and more people yelling to get out and move out of the way. I had to wonder what kind of Angel that I was going to deal with.

I landed on the floor, seeing bullets flying down the hallway already in the metahuman wing of the prison. It was already looking bad as I ran over. Before I could even make it over to the actual middle where the main fighting at, I saw one of the soldiers flying out of nowhere and slamming into the concrete wall, falling to the floor unconscious.

"Where is the Fallen Angel?!"

The voice sounded threatening and almost daunting, booming in the echoing prison walls. I froze there, not knowing what to do at first now since this was going to be the very first Fallen Angel that I was going to have to go up against.

"Back down, fancy ass!" Flag said in a warning, having me hear his voice now and how he was sounding scary again like he usually would in the past when he was in soldier mode. I walked over now, keeping my steps low from the sound as I was still keeping my ears open.

"I've seen the news on how one Fallen Angel has helped you swine with saving the world, makes me wonder if she's really an Angel like the rest of us. Using her power to help people like you….what a waste," The Angel's voice said in a deep threatening tone now as I looked around the corner. I saw Flag, about 200 feet away facing someone with his back towards me and the Angel in front of him.

"You tell me where she is, or I'll kill every last one of you," He said to Flag in a threatening manner, using his own Angel voice against Flag. I knew then that this as going to have to happen, me fighting him and having him leave the others alone there since I knew he was out for blood.

"I ain't gonna say shit," Flag muttered to him as he cocked his gun and the Angel started to chuckle.

This Angel, from behind, looked more like a nazi skinhead with a nearly shaven head on his pale skin, a leather jacket over some of the muscles there on the tops of his arms, and baggy jeans with thick boots on. He looked brutal, beyond brutal there and rough around the edges as he aimed his eyes and sights on Flag.

If this was what Jacob was thinking about when he said that I would fight an Angel myself, then it had to be so. I walked over to the middle of the hallway, the Angel then stopping his movements with Flag there bin front of him and he stood up completely. He knew I was there, but I kept walking to the middle and I stood there, waiting for him to turn around and make his first move on me.

"I'm right here," I said to him, my own voice was booming into the hallway there. I never used that Angel part of me before, with the voice threatening to cut through a room and stop all that was moving. I sounded more from another realm when I used that tone, another arsenal for the fallen Angel to have in their corner.

Flag saw me, lowering his gun slightly in shock as the Angel turned around and faced me. I saw his face, finally. and I saw the raw look on his face. Hie eyes were hollow with no sense of warmth, his stubble there on his cheeks indicated that he had some hard times in his own life and in how hollow he looked though he had the muscles behind him under his skin and in his legs. He was going to be some kind of challenge, and the way he was smirking at me, I was going to be a challenge for him.

"So you're the one who's playing nice with these scumbags," He said as he pointed to Flag behind him but kept his shallow and evil eye right on me.

"If you wanna fight, then let's fight and you can leave them alone," I said to him carefully, unfolding my own wings there and letting them spread out behind me in a defensive manner. The Angel grinned at me, thinking that this was some kind of game in his eyes now as he got into a ready stance himself. Flag took a step back, keeping his eyes on me the whole time now as I was keeping my eyes on the enemy Angel there.

"You gonna protect them?" He asked me now, his voice was once again low as I was no longer wanting to play nice with him. I was never one that wanted to fighter another Angel, but that was about to be the end of that philosophy, "You're no Angel then since Angels don't help those who are far from Grace."

"You are far from it yourself," I wanted him, seeing him almost slip from his grin as he pointed to himself.

"I've chosen the Free Will of this cursed life that they gave me. You'll choose it too, just like the others," he reassured me in his sinister tone and his grin that seemed way too wicked for an Angel to have plastered on his face. I dug my heels into the floor there, already ready for the fight that was about to begin. Flag was still walking backward, trying not to make a sound now as the Angel pointed back at me.

"After I finished you off, they're next. No more scum on the earth, like you." He said to me in a lower register now as I saw him instantly run over to me, bolting with his arms pumping and his eyes dead on me. I ran towards him as well, thinking that this might be the very last moment of my life, going up against another Angel and being defeated.


	15. Chapter 15

The sound of Angels fighting is almost like be caught in the middle of a thunderstorm with no knowledge as to where is up and which way is down.

It's loud, loud and chaotic.

We were punching each other as if we were in a bar having a regular bar fight. One dodging the other, one ducked from a jab to the side of the head and then ramming their elbow into the rib. He knew how to bar fight as well as I did, I could give him that much credit. But since he was an Angel too, he knew how to fight in the way Angels did fight if they were needing to do such a thing. I could have sworn he was a fighter too before he was converted, like me.

But he was fighting way dirtier than I was.

I got him good in the jaw as he then punched me hard in the side of the head, the both of us were still standing with each other facing mere inches apart and I saw a small open wound there on his cheek where I landed the strike.

"Let's take this up a notch," He growled, grabbing me by the shoulders as his wings hoisted the both of us in the air. My wings went up too in retaliation as we were now about 10 feet from the ground, levitating thanks to our wings and it was now going to be an airborne fight.

Wonderful.

I was the first to collide into the wall, almost hearing it rip into the air there as he slammed his fist into the side of my head as we were elevated up in the air about 10 feet. I was trying to hold my own, punching him back with every ounce I had within me now as I tossed him over to the side to get him away from me within a second as one of his wings stretched out to pierce me. The tip of it was the metal of some sort, almost dipped in some kind of metal that was enough to get me good when it comes to a wound. So I knew that was one of his own weapons that he would use as a scare static.

I dodged the first strike, then the second one now as one of my wing threw out a burst of wind right at him to have him almost lose his own balance in the sky and I ducked down to punch out one of his kneecaps. He moved back slightly now, having me grab him around the neck and move the both of us over to the other side of the hallway, another loud bang of thunder was heard when we collided into the concrete wall.

I could admit that we both were pretty good at this. He knew how to manuver and use his wings, and I knew how to punch and duck just in time. It felt like a sparring much, but we were doing this in order to kill the other. And I thought the bar fights I was in years ago was bad. This was way more brutal, blood already spewing within one another and bruises were forming on the skin. Human violence was bad, and this was beyond brutal and almost lethal.

"Backup, we need backup in here!" Flag was screaming into his earpiece there as I slammed the Angel's head into the wall, almost thinking that I heard a crack but I really didn't. He punched me hard in the face, having me feel my lip busted open with ease now as I choked him to keep him against the wall and I looked at Flag. I knew that he was going to have to bring more people to help me. But that would mean more bloodshed, more people dying for something that I knew I would have to face on my own and without any of their help. They would be beyond killed within a second.

"No! Don't send them Flag!" I wanted him, the Angel then moving one of his wings with the metal tip on the very top to the his wing over to slice down my upper arm, having me grunt out in pain as I kicked him hard in the chest and seeing him move away from me, hovering in the air there with his wings moving to keep him levitated. He was still strong enough, as was I, and yet he was still trying to cut me down little by little and make it harder for me to fight him in the end.

"You're not bad, but I've fought better," He sneered at me now as I glared at him, feeling the blood going down my upper arm there from his cut against my skin and my lip throbbing. He launched himself at me again, but this time I knew I could at least get him leveled with me when it came to this fight. Once again, using the one trick I knew and that Chato taught me when we were younger.

I broke his nose with the heel of my hand.

He flew back, almost knowing off his own sense of gravity as I saw blood pouring out of his nose and I was still hovering in the air without making a sound, watching him now as I placed my fists up in front of me. He gave me such evil eyes then, having em see that I had jumped off the cliff or no return with him.

"I've fought better too, bitch." I snarled at him, a huge shot of adrenaline was running into me and through me, all because of this fight. This sense of needing to protect the others there in the prison but for others that were going to be haunted by these Fallen Angels.

He launched at me again, trying once more to strike at me with one of his metal tipped wings there in a harsh stride and I was trying to strike at him back with my fists. It was another round of sparring, but this time it was more violent and brutal. With one upper hand of one of us, the other would strike back. We were both at the same level with this fight, and it felt like it would be beyond a long time until one of us give up. Either that or sone of us was going to die.

I felt like it was going to be the latter.

I was struck down to the floor, having me grunt out in pain now as my bones were shaking there from the sudden impact. He was leering at me, pondering in his head what body part he was going to take apart next now as he made a fist and was about to hit me hard when I moved in time for his hand to smack into the concrete below and made a hand dent there like it was clay.

"You just had to be a squirmer, didn't ya?" He asked me bitterly now as I was not going to stay still and make it harder for him to get a good grip on me. But now that his grip there along my neck was getting tougher and tougher for me to breathe, and I could feel the control that I thought I had in this situation was slowly slipping now because of his own strength.

"Hey! Asshole!" I felt a wave of heat scorching the area as I was still on the floor there and not able to move. But the Angel in front of me was now thrown off of me like something was showing him to the size, finally breathing out in relief and my lungs were working again as what seemed to be a wall of fire right in front of my eyes. It threw me off, not knowing what it was and how it happened.

But I then knew that voice, and it made me look over in panic at the direction where the voice came from and it scared me.

The Suicide Squad.

"You best leave her alone, shorty," Deadshot explained to the Angel as he as wearing his white mask and pointed at my enemy there who was struggling a bit to get up. I rolled onto my stomach, getting my elbow underneath me as I was looking over at my friends. They were in their fighting attire, watching me like a hawk and the Angel there too to see his next reaction. They were all there, even Katana and Flag was next to them now as I wanted to find the words to tell them to run and get out of there. But none of them look afraid, and the person right in the middle broke my heart from me seeing him there.

Chato. He was beyond angry.

"You're no match for me!" The angel bellowed at the group now, clearly ticked off because it was Chato was the one that prevented him from killing me off.

"You ain't gonna touch her," Chato growled to him now as the Angel chuckled lightly.

"I don't take kindly to threats from people like you," He countered back to Chato as Boomerang shook his own head.

"You're going to be on your death bed for saying something like that to him, mate," Boomerang reminded him as he held out one of his weapons there in his hands. I could see Croc getting his claws out from his hands there too silently, but the death glare was already all over his face when Boomerang threatened the Angel again, "You mess with her, you mess with us. Savvy?"

"Enough!" The Angel bellowed as I finally got enough strength underneath me to get myself up and stand on my own two feet and watch him now as he was pointing right at me then with death still there in his eyes. This was going to be messier and messier by the minute now that they were involved, which was something I didn't want at all. I didn't want them to be here, they had to be safe and I knew that I had to be the one that needed to be messy, "After I kill her, you all will be next."

"Son of a bitch," Chato growled now in heat and in anger as I moved to stand in front of the group, between the both of them and making sure that I was still going to seem strong enough to take him.

"I'm not gonna let you touch them," I growled at him now, his eyes going right back at me and no longer focusing on the group behind me. I was still fuming, the anger that he was giving my because he threatened my friends and he threatened my life was enough to have me feel so much anger and hate that could last me for years.

"You gonna stop me, little one?" The Angel taunted me, running towards me now with one arm out in front of him to the side as if he was going to close line me there. I ducked to the side, grabbing his arm to whip him back around to face me as I rammed my knee into his skull to have him fall to the ground in a howl of pain as I knew I cracked something there in his forehead. He rolled onto the floor and held his head in his hands.

"I think she answered your question," Croc growled back at him as I looked over at the group of them.

"Get back to your cells, now," I warned them.

"You crazy? We're not gonna leave ya!" Boomerang said in a surprised manner.

"You can't kill him, none of you can," I reminded them all with a worried tone, "I'm the only one who can."

"We can still help you," Deadshot reminded me as Chato took a few steps over to where I was. I saw the hurt, me asking him to leave me again. I shook my head silently at him, seeing him stop now as I talked again to all of them.

"I can do this, but I have to protect all of you," I explained, "Get somewhere safe."

"I think we can all agree that you're a badass at this and all, but you still need some help." Deadshot tried to argue with me, when I heard a growl right behind me in time to whirled around and see the Angel standing up blood spewing from his forehead and he was fuming with fury there.

"You bitch." He snarled, Boomerang behind me then flinging out one of his own weapons there in his hands to strike him across the cheek after he said that to me. It bounced off of him, but I knew it was only going to be a distraction since that's all I needed in that moment. I bolted to him, wrapping now arm around his neck to get him in a choke hold and strengthening my legs there on the floor. He slammed one of his hands there across my cheek, leaving a deep scar there against the skin.

"Chato, don't!" Deadshot warned Chato as I saw Chato being held back by the others from seeing the Angel strike me. He was seeing red in his eyes, and he was so close to breaking free to murder the being himself.

I breathed out my fear of not doing this and breathing in the hate that poured into me from what he was saying about myself and my friends. I was squeezing his neck tight, hearing him groan out now and almost squirm under my choke hold on his as something then popped off.

His head fell to the floor, his body right behind it. Blood spewed all over me and the floor.

I was almost hyperventilating at that point, seeing his disembodied head rolling a bit away from the body and how I stood there rigid and not moving an inch. That just happened, and it was playing over and over in my head like a replay button on the TV screen. It was shocking, like a new dose of reality setting in and how I was the one who did that, no one else. Only me, and for some reason, I thought I should feel real damn proud about it.

But why wasn't I?

"Marley…." Deadshot said carefully now as I was still looking at the body there on the ground without its head. I felt the blood, still hot from being in his body moments before now and was now sticking to me like it was about to be permanent. My wings folded back against my back again, my breathing was getting harsher and harsher. It was coming back to me and not in a pleasant way, the images of his live eyes were now dead now as I was clutching and unclutching my fingers there against my sides in order to feel something at least.

"I've never killed someone before," I said in low and calm manner, but nothing about this whole situation was calm and low. This was felt red hot all over my brain from seeing him alive and now dead and I looked over at the group of them. They looked right at me, seeing the blood splattered on my face and the bruises and cuts on my own body there to show my fight. But I was alive…I had to say it over and over again. I was alive….alive….

"Let's get you cleaned up before Waller comes back and sees…sees that," Flag said to me as advice now as they were walking over to me, having me stay still as they were looking at the body with both interest and a hint of fear that I did something like that to an Angel.

"She'll know I did that," I agreed, Chato placing his hand on my arm to draw me near him. I was shaking at that point, not able to sit still as he then placed a hand on my lower back to bring back more warmth that I needed to feel in that moment.

"And she'll never let you go," Chato added, having me look at him now as he thought about that sentence bitterly in his brain. I knew what he said was fact: If Amanda knew what I could do then she wouldn't want to let me go anymore since I would be another asset to the team and an Angel fighter. but that was not me, not at all. I knew that I did that just to protect my friends and to make sure they would still be alive. I almost lost my life to them, and I would think they would do the same for me too.

"Come on," Flag urged, Chato leading me away from the body now with the rest of the group and they were walking behind the pair of us. I was moving away from that death trap that I was almost a part of, thankfully, and I was trying to once again wrap my head around it.

* * *

One Week Later.

"Does it go away, Jacob?"

"You did what you had to do,"

"But I see him in my head, and how I killed him."

"It's hard, but you're strong enough to see past this," I was sitting there in the back corner of one of the coffee shops in town, once again thinking back to one week ago when the Angel was there about to kill off my friends and I got his head clean off. It felt like a nightmare that I was reliving over and over again in my head. At first, I didn't want to believe it, but it was still feeling raw under my skin. Jacob was sitting next to me now as I was looking at my coffee that I ordered, but I wasn't going to drink it.

"So, me killing that Angel, that was my destiny this whole time, wasn't it?" I asked him as I was tapping my fingers absentmindedly against the table top that we were at in the back part of the shop.

"It was," Jacob replied, very short but not cross.

"I thought at some point me losing my life was going to be part of the deal," I explained, voicing what I was thinking about and what I was feeling. I knew he knew what I was thinking about, but it was still nice enough for me to just talk about it.

"So, what happens with me now?" I asked him as I looked over at him, "Another mission for me to risk my neck for?"

"No," I looked at him as he drank some of his own coffee, then slowly looking over at me now to see my reaction.

"Really?" I asked.

"You've done what I have asked you to do, and now you can make your own choice from here on out. I only helped you up until this point where you can make the choice on your own," Jacob explained as he looked out the window, and I thought he would be sounding sad about it. I honestly did, but it was more like a parent watching their child grow up and now be on their own for the first time. Was he thinking like that too? I passed there, looking at my coffee cup again and thinking that I had to bring up one more piece of the puzzle that I had to place together in my life. It was a part of my past that I knew I wanted to bury but in order for me to have a good life I had to surface once more.

I had to find my parents.


	16. Chapter 16

_Dear Marley_

 _Greetings from the outside! I was hopin' to get ahold of ya and check up on ya and your wings! Someone told me they grow back, and hopefully, that turned out beautiful like you!_

 _I heard you're out there savin' the world from the Angels that are bad, which sounds like you. Man, I wish I could see you now, you flyin' around in the air and being the badass you are. I have a good feelin' we're gonna be good friends around the future and I'll see ya soon._

 _Keep an eye on Diablo for me. You two have somethin' special, believe me. Don't let it die._

 _H.Q._

Things were trying to get back to normal, at least for me they were. I was going through the paces of the world, not having to worry about any destinies that I was fulfilling. I was just now a normal person still, a Fallen Angel to be exact, but I was normal enough to walk through the day and not be seen by others as a threat. It was still some kind of threat with those Angels that were defying their true nature and their destinies apparently, the rogue rebels that thought the could do anything they want. But as for me, I was trying to lay low for once and have my own life with my own set of rules.

That was a first.

I got to land myself a job outside the world of being a superhero, though being a ballet instructor was really not what I had in mind since I haven't done it in years. But then again it was better than nothing at all or working in a retail store. That would be my nightmare, and being a dancer again was being more positive things around for me than negative. They let me work with the youngest class, wee little 3 and 4 years old that were just starting out in dancing. Just like how I started out.

"Now, remember our first position." I reminded the children as they were watching me with their big eyes and they were practicing once again as I was mirroring me. The pianist was playing in the background as we were moving our hands and our feet slowly and I was looking at each of them. There were about 15 kids in a room, a small ballet studio out on one of the streets in New Orleans and on an early Sunday afternoon. With the spring air coming in from one of the open windows and the sound of people walking by on their own times and agendas, it was a good afternoon for teaching.

"Very good, now move to a coupe," I said to the girls now as they were doing what I was doing. It's been years since I was doing things like this, but after I got the job I had to practice all over again with what I knew and what I didn't remember.

"Good job, class. We'll learn some more next time when you come back. Remember to practice at home," I reminded all of the kids, hearing some of them groan since the class was over and others giggle as they were going to to the hallway where their mothers were waiting. One of them, a little girl named Louisa. She was a beautiful little girl with blond long hair in ringlets and bright brown eyes, making em melt every time I hear her talk to me. She was a shy one compared to the others girls, but we connect instantly.

"I like being in your class, Miss Kelso." She said to me in a shy tone with his big grin on her face that made me beam back at her and squat down to be right at her eye level since she too was one of the smallest ones in the class.

"I like you being in my class, don't tell the others," I reminded her, seeing her giggle at me from what I told her as her mother, almost a carbon copy of her daughter walked into the studio and her daughter ran off to her. I got up from my spot there near the floor, seeing her mother wrap her arms around her and give her a big hug.

That was the one part that I didn't like about this whole thing: seeing the parents and how supportive they were. I liked how they were the good parents, but they made me remember my own parents and how they weren't there when I was their age, trying to be the ballerina that I thought I was in my head. They would just drop me off and then go off on their own, picking me up as soon as class was over. They never watched in adoration or in awe at what I could do. So I envied these little girls, and I only hoped that they had a good life wit their mothers and fathers. They wouldn't have a life that I had.

I really prayed and hoped for that.

Her mother waved at me as they were gathering her things and going out onto the street, Louisa grin in at something her mother said. It was my own cue to go into my office and grab my things from there, the rest of the staff was gone and about to get ready for the senior class that starts within an hour. My office was near the back, a small little area with one desk and a small chair that I grabbed from the loft. It was nice enough with some sprucing up here and there, and of course, plenty of succulents to have that would bring a small hint of nature.

Once I opened the door, I saw someone sitting there in the chair and waiting for me casually with her leg crossed and drinking out of a mug, though when I saw her I was frozen in my spot there and key my hand there on the door handle.

Harley Quinn herself.

She wasn't dressed like she was when we were in Mid-Way City, she had a whole new wardrobe and a new style of hair with the blue and pink tinted blond hair still there. But she looked like she was trying to be more casual than flashy, which was why she was here instead of being escorted out if they knew who she really was. Her aura was even sending me the vibes that she was calm and almost excited to see me, with a hint of mystery about her too. Something was up.

"Hey there," She said casually, smiling at me as if we were the oldest of friends. I was still shocked to see her, not knowing what to say to her at first or what to do in that moment. It took me a moment there, closing the door behind me and locking it inc are someone was going to come in and see what we were doing or hear what we were talking about. I looked back at her, taking out a shallow breath as she giggled from seeing my reaction.

"What? You didn't expect to see me?" She asked all innocently now as she placed the mug in her hand on my desk, trying not to have it touch my papers there as some kind of sign of respect. She got up then, folding her hands in front of her to maybe show that she was not going to be some kind of threat to me as we were going to have some kind of talk together, "I thought I would drop by and say hello since I heard you were out of the hell hole in Belle Reeve."

"You heard right," I calmly replied, "How did you find me here?"

"I have connections. You know, since you were on our team and my Puddin' busted me out of Belle Reeve, I did my research on you and Fallen Angels. Wasn't so hard as to know you guys have your own little circuit together," She explained casually as she tilted her head at me in fascination, "Puddin' wanted to tag along and met ya since he too was all about havin' Angels on his team to help him do dirty work. He wanted to ask ya questions about it, but I told him to stay home. I just wanted to catch up, you and me."

So, she has been with The Joker this whole time since she left Belle Reeve. That hunch was trust after all, and what she's done with him I would never know with this first conversation that we were going to have together. Which meant that there was going to be more talks like this when I was not going o expect it at all. She'll spring up from time to time, it was just how she was.

"Since we talked last, I wanted to check up on you and see how you were doin'," She explained again, which made me look at her in question now since it felt like she was going to try something else on me.

"Really?" I asked her, seeing her grin at now with hand f her face.

"Oh come on, Marley. We all heard about the prison attack some time ago and that one crazy Nazi Angel that came in to kill the team to find ya," She reasoned, having me now look at her in suspicion since it felt like she knew more about that story than I knew about it. There was something up her sleeve, and it felt like she was not going to tell me anytime soon willingly.

"What do you know about it, Harley?" I asked her calmly, not wanting to throw her off, just yet.

"Just what I heard from the news and all," She answered, though in the way she said it automatically made me think that she was, in fact, hiding something from me that I should about. She was panicked, I felt it then and it was going to make things worse, "Word gets around us metahumans."

"Enough for you to try and find me and bring it up?" I asked her now with a tilt of my own head. She stared at me, and I could mainly hear her heartbeat under what she was wearing go a bit faster. Sure, she was coy about plenty of things, but she was talking to a Fallen Angel that knew how to read people and their body langue way better than the leading psychologists.

"You make it sound like I had somethin' to do with it, honey." She played it off, but the look on her face was still bit enduring and almost scared now since she knew her lie was slowly slipping and almost coming off the deep end. She turned then, fixing her gaze on something else then since looking at me proved to be too much for her as she found the succulents that I had on the small window sill there. She reached out to touch one of the leaves, almost afraid to touch it herself now with her pale fingers.

"How's the honey in your life?" She asked casually again, changing the subject from the Angel over to Chato now as she looked at each one of those plants in awe, "I'll admit, you two have a hot and heavy thing goin'. I was a bit jealous myself really."

"You know you could have asked him yourself back before you broke out of prison," I reminded her, seeing her pause her actions with my plants and she thought about it for a moment or two, "He misses you, they all do. In fact, I think Deadshot was the one who thought you might have had something to do with the Angel the attacked them."

"Me? Ol' innocent me?" Harley asked in her innocent manner, at the end it sounded faltered, "Now why would they think that? I think those guys are a bit paranoid and they miss me a little too much."

"I'm sure they do, but it does look a bit bad on your part that you didn't come back and help," I reasoned again, seeing her hand slowly go down t her side since it felt like I was getting under her skin with all of this talk about what happened. It felt like she was trying so hard not to bring it up with me since were supposed to be talking and having a nice reunion. She slowly looked over to the side where I had a few pictures on the wall, having em see her face and now it looked almost damaged.

"I had nothin' to do with what happened," She tried to say as level toned as she could, not trying to show that she was losing this battle with me.

"I know you didn't, but I can have a clear guess that you know who did," I tried not to push it with her since it felt like she was one of the rare souls that could fly off the handle. I didn't know if she was going to do that with me, but I didn't want to push it. She still said nothing, already having me see that I was telling the truth. It felt like I did catch her in a trap, and she knew for certain.

"Harley," I said to her, finally using the Angel voice that I would really use and I saw her shoot a look over at me now, my stare on her was both fierce and not showing any kind of remorse as to what I was doing. She was stuck there, feeling very stuck herself in the middle of the small and almost congested office that we were both occupying.

"Joker sent him, didn't he?"

Harley said nothing, but the look in her eyes was enough for me to know that what I said was the truth. I sighed, not really having the energy to scream at her and ask her why The Joker would do something like that. Was it to kill me? To prove a point that he still had control over certain individuals? Why was it a target at me? The angel wanted me, and he would kill the others in order to get to me, he said so himself. But still, it made no sense that The Joker was going to be the one that did that in order to have me dead, or close to being dead.

It hurt that she would be with someone like him, though I wasn't surprised. I had to think that she had the best intentions from being here, but when I realized how she was linked to that Angel that tried to kill me. I would think that she would at least try got stop The Joker from doing this, but it seemed as though that's not the case.

"Well, you can let The Joker know that if he wants to kill me, he's gonna try harder," I explained as I reached around her to my desk and I grabbed my messenger bag that was there, not giving her eye contact. It felt like I didn't even want to give her some kind of look there since it was more like a betrayal there with her. I didn't care that we weren't as close as friends as I thought we were and what we could be. It was still hurtful that she had some part of this, and I thought she was the one who was going to be my friend in all of this.

I moved to unlock the door and to get out of the office, thinking that if I left the area that I would feel better. But as I was about to go out of the office and once again having my hand on the handlebar, she spoke up once again.

"He was testing you," She said, having me stop there as I was letting that sink into my head now. She sounded calm, no longer scared from the previous conversation we just had, "Joker was testing you to see if you could work for him."

He wanted me to work with him, so he sent me one of his goons? That was still beyond my own head that she wanted to come and what? Warn me? Ask me how I did? It felt like she wasn't really there to just talk to me and see what I was doing, it was more of a chore than leisurely. But I finally looked back at her, seeing her watch me with the calmness back on her face and the seriousness there. She wasn't playing around with me this time, the coyness was long gone and the friend that I thought I knew was back. I could feel it: remorse and a hint of sadness.

Still, though. It hurt like a bitch,

"Let him know that I'm not interested,"

I walked out without another word to it.

* * *

"You sure you wanna do this?"

"What other choice do I have?"

"Plenty other than this one."

"Chato, I need to do this and get it over with,"

Chato and I were standing outside the house that my family was in, the both of us looking at it with remorse there on our faces for being there in the first place. They lived in an older house out in the outskirts of Seattle, Washington, back in the old money areas of the mountains. They moved there when I was on the verge of turning 18, and they took me with them. Away from Chato and the life I wanted with them.

But it was odd that I was back.

After from researching and looking up names on the internet, I found them there at the address. I wasn't too hard to talk to the locals there in Seattle, hearing that the family that lived here wasted almost all of their money since their business went south after I ran away from home and never came back. They were not the verge of bankruptcy from what I was told and real online, virtually no other money left in their name except for the money they stowed away in their investments and savings. They were just living there with nothing else to do.

A part of me was fine with that.

It was a nice enough house for me to see that they did live in luxury, a few things here and there that were different from when I was there so many years back. But still, it felt the same when I was there: restricted and constrained.

"What about your brother?" Chato asked me as he was looking at the place up and down now in disgust and almost hate, even though he's never stepped foot in this house before.

"Grant's down in Sacramento, we can go visit him after this. He wants to see you," I reassured him.

"You think he'll remember me?" Chato questioned, having me smile at him.

"Of course he will. He was the only one that liked you, because you never broke my heart," I reasoned, seeing him watch me too and a small smirk was there.

"I never wanted to break your heart," He explained.

"Nor did I," I agreed, the both of us looking back at the house again and I felt him lace our fingers together, pressing our palms together as one as I centered my brain and said a small prayer in hopes that it would help me. But as soon as I was done with the prayer, the front doors opened to the house and I cringed. They might have seen the both of us standing there in front of their front lawn like two freaks there. Hell, he could have looked like freaks, I would think we were freaks too if I was the one looking out. But they walked out, the both of them and they were looking right at me.

My parents.

My mom looked just the same since I saw her last, but she aged beautifully in my opinion. Her hair was still long like it used to me, but now it was having more gray hairs that it did before and it was pull back in an elegant bun on the back of her head and her eyes were still bright and big enough for me to see that she still had some sort of a soul there. My father, on the other hand, looked like he aged greatly and at a faster rate than anyone should. Wrinkles were around his eyes as crow's nest, his hair was almost on the verge of being all gray and mused to the side now as if he was trying to keep it together but wasn't successful. They both looked, not like themselves, not how I knew them long ago.

They slowly walked over to the steps there, on the front porch and then walked down to stand there on the walkway that was right in front of the both of us. I wanted it immediately get up and run away, to not be here and to be anywhere else. But this was something that had to be done, they had to know that I was still alive and they could live with that. With Chato right next to me as some kind of anchor while he was still holding my hand and not letting me go at all.

"Marley?" My mother asked, my father staying silent as they were standing there, side by side, not moving closer to me in fear that I would run fi they did. I would if they did, that was true enough as I stared at the both of them. First, my mother and then my father. My mother was mostly floored that I was there, almost like she was about to loose her breath. But my father, with him it was hard to read since he looked more stone faced than anything. Like he was seeing a ghost.

"Oh honey," My mother said in a hopeful manner, about to take one step over to me now when my father stopped her. He had a grip on her arm, I could see that clearly there as I shifted on my feet there. Why was he stopping her from seeing me and talking to me? It didn't make sense in my head, and it was making me angry now since I thought it was going to be different than this.

"I just wanted to let you both see me," I explained to the both of them, trying to keep my own voice nice and calm now as my dad was still looking right at me, He was trying to understand why I was there, why I was back in his life when he thought I was gone for good.

"To see you?" My mother asked me now, not looking at my father and noticing his grip on her arm that was slowly making me angry from how he was holding her, to have control there.

"Just to see me, in case you were wondering if I was still alive or not," I explained some more, wanting it to sound shorter than anything. It was the right thing to do, for the both of them to realize that I was still alive and nothing else to it. I had nothing to tell them that would make this relationship that I had with them was already done and killed to the ground.

"We weren't," My father said it like he was trying to shoot out a bullet from between his teeth, and I knew that bullet was going to come sooner than later. Chato didn't move next to me, but I knew that he was trying with every ounce of his being to not give my father a piece of his mind.

"That's fair enough," I replied back to him, not showing any kind of emotions to him now as it looked like my mother was seeing a train wreck in front of her and she couldn't stop it. My father then pointed to Chato then, and I knew another can of worms was about to be opened.

"I see you found him, again," He said to me, almost in a low tone like he did before, "Let me take a wild guess that you two were together the whole time you were gone." I knew he was trying so hard to make it spin back at me, and my mom could use it too as she was about to hush him and stop him from any more damage. But I had enough, I was more than done with the both of them and the pain that they place on me because of someone whom I cared about and a philosophy that I didn't commit to. I moved to stand in front of Chato before he too could get in the middle of the argument and I finally spoke in my own Angel voice against my own parents.

"I found him months ago," I said to the pair of them, and once they heard my new tone of voice they instantly stopped and were beyond scared of what was coming out of my mouth, "I was homeless after I left you for 4 years. 4 long years of thinking that I couldn't come back…come back to you."

I saw it then, in their eyes, and I felt it. The anger that I was feeling was swirling in with the looks of pain and almost regret in the both of them now as I was still trying not to scream at him as those memories were brought back to me and having me glare at the pair of them.

"I thought this would be a good thing, for me to come back and to at least see the both of you after being away for so long and being in prison for just as long too," I reasoned, the both of them looking more alarmed that I spoke about being in prison, "If you wanted to know, I'm one of those Angels that you saw on theTV. That's right, I'm a walking talking Angel, and I'm with him now," Chato walked over to stand next to me, pressing into my slightly as I was giving me last moment and talk to my parents then. My mother was about to break down in tears, whereas my father looked more lost about it than anything.

"Sorry I wasn't the daughter you wanted, but I'm not to blame. It's you two, and I do hope you pray to God and ask for forgiveness. Even though I'm an Angel and I should forgive, I'm still human. So I don't have to." Chato and I moved and turned our backs on them, walking out of their lives once again and this time, there was no losing control or sense of regret from what we were doing. I didn't want to look back, and I didn't.

I wanted to look forward.

* * *

Author's Note: That's the end of this one! I have a feeling I need to add one more chapter to show what happened with Marley and Chato, let me know if you want it!

Thanks for the reviews and the love and the support!


	17. Epilogue

Avalon, California

1 month later.

"Here you are, your keys." I walked into the living room there that seemed so small but content and Chato was right behind me while the real estate agent said goodbye and closed the door behind us. I was drinking it all in, the new place that we got there late within that night. It was peaceful and quiet there along the coast. I wasn't used to this kind of quiet, the kind of quiet that was supposed to be there in comparison to the quietness of the prison since no one wanted to make a sound. This was the kind of quiet that I wanted and needed in my life.

I felt like Chato needed the same.

Chato was released from the prison because of the plenty of missions that he went on, finally getting she prison sentence done and over with. I knew that it would cause of ruffled feathers with Amanda Waller, but she knew a deal was a deal. I was mostly afraid that Amanda was going to try and keep him there in order for him to be part of the Suicide Squad. He was afraid for that too, and he didn't want to work for her anymore. Sure, he would miss the group of them that were still in there and rotting away under her command and power, but he needed to be free again.

He needed that freedom.

Harley has yet to contact me again since our confrontation at my old ballet studio in New Orleans. It felt odd that I wasn't talking to her again, but I knew I needed that space and that distance from her and the others since my own head was still out of sort from just seeing my parents alone. I felt bad for leaving the others behind, but I felt like they understood that Chato and I needed a fresh start away from the others. It was just the topic of Harley that was still shifty for me and still fresh. I could only hope in the future that we are able to be friends there again.

I quit that job and found another dance instructor job there at Avalon, which made me sad to leave the little girls in my class behind find new ones to teach there in our new city. It took Chato a bit to find a job, and we both knew it would be hard on his part given his track record as an ex-gang member and with his tattoos all over his body. he was still getting used to being there in the outside world with his orange jumpsuit and handcuffs on his hands. It was odd for him to be free, and for him to make his own mind for once in years.

We found the house online after we realized we had to get our own little place. Grant even helped us after we went to him and told him our need to get out of dodge. I didn't even realize that my brother that kind of connection himself: he was a real estate agent. I asked him if it was his idea or our parent's idea. He just grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"When you work with the right people and get a shit load of money, you'll say it's your own idea."

Avalon was a good option for the both of us, it was a big enough island for us to hid away and not think that Amanda Waller would find either one of us. But we had enough money to be fine on our own for a bit before we would be desperate for money and in need of it. Grant reassured me that if our parents asked where I was, which I knew they weren't going to since I told them off, he was not going to say a single word to them. I was glad he was on my side when it came to our parents, he too got out of dodge with them when he had the chance and he didn't look back when he went to college and beyond. I didn't think for a second that he would think the same way as our mom and dad, but he must have seen a side of them that I saw but didn't say a word about.

He saw the darkness in them too.

One of those nights there in the house I was sitting up in the bedroom, on our big bed that we both got together without a second thought to it when we were picking out things for the house. I wanted it to be big, comfortable, and safe for the both of us to use and to have together. It would be a silly thing to think about when it came to a bed, but when you're used to sleeping on a cot in a small cell, it wouldn't be a bad thing to get a bed that was as wide side to side from one wall to another. Sure it would be extreme, but neither one of us cared.

I left one of the windows open to hear the waves crashing and falling to the seashore that was down the hill a bit. There were spectacled lights seen out there from the peninsula and the surrounding neighborhood there in that island made it look almost magical, kind of like Christmas. It felt peaceful there within that small house that we had together, nothing else was tied to us then and it was fresh and new. I was reminded of the times we were together when we were younger, and how free we felt when we were together. I missed those years together, the years that we lost.

But now we were making it up again.

Chato walked in from the bathroom that was connected to our bedroom, having me look over at him there too see him in one of his baggy pants and one of his wife beaters on. He locked eyes with me, having em grin at him there and I got to see him out of his prison uniform, which suited him very well.

"Hey," I said to him softly, seeing him slowly grin at me a soft smile there as he walked over to the edge of the bed. He crawled over a bit to sit across from me, watching me with his eyes there as I was watching him in return. He looked content, compared to when I saw him back at the prison when he looked beyond lost and almost filled with regret. I didn't see it on his face there, I saw my best friend from so long ago like we would be when we were together.

"You okay?" He asked me, maybe he thought I was lost in thought within myself. I nodded my head, my smile looked more genuine than any of the smiles that I had within the last month.

"I'm just…happy we're here," I admitted to him, Happy felt like a underestimated word to use at this moment, since I felt like I could really fly and not be able to touch back down to the earth. I was no longer in prison, there was no real destiny for me to fulfill since it was already done and over with, and the one person I thought I lost was back there with me. There was nothing else I needed in the world, not the need to see my parents again, not the need to fulfill another destiny as a Fallen Angel, nothing.

He cracked a grin at me, obviously knowing something there as I was now feeling like I was under the radar with him now. He always had that way with me, whether I was ready for it or not.

"What?" I asked him, seeing him slowly move himself to be closer to me there and I felt that warmth bubbling within me again from how close we would get to one another and just smile. That bubbling sensation was enough to me to never have drugs in my life, not one bit of it.

"You're nervous," He stated to me in almost a low murmur, not a growl but lower than that, which was getting under my skin and having me get that gravitational pull towards him that was not able to stop at all.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, trying to sound innocent as he looked down at my hand that was resting on my leg there as I was sitting Indian Style. It was tapping, and it was the same incident while we were waiting to go into the subway to face the Witch. He knew more about me than I knew about myself, and it was the same the other way around with me knowing him more than he knew about himself. I grinned, biting my lower lip then since it felt as though I had no other place to hide really.

"You make me nervous," I admitted, in which I saw him grasp my hand that was on my leg and holding it gently, almost in an intimate way now as I could feel my face getting warmer and warmer. It was true, even after years and years he was still giving me the butterflies in my stomach. Not only because I loved him in an intimate way, but I knew him, and he knew me. He knew all of me and every part of me that was still ugly and almost too dark. He was safe, he was secure when others would be chaotic and fly away from me. Even after I came back to his hectic life with a new pair of wings and a destiny to save him, he didn't turn me away or did he turn away himself.

Now, without me realizing it really in my own head, he was close enough to be a breath away from me as he was looking at me with the same look that he would give me every once in awhile when we were alone together. I felt my stomach drop, my energy buzzing and fizzing and my own brain was going to the pure happiness that was his lips that were kissing me softly and pulling me carefully into his arms and I was now sitting in his lap. Both of my arms were around his shoulders and his hands were all over my lower back, almost going under my shirt to touch my bare skin.

Our kisses were remaining soft, it wasn't hot and heavy like it would have been before. But it was the delicate touches that were used along the arms and the backside. It was still thrilling with my blood when I first got his shirt off while placing kisses there on his lips, feeling him switch to kiss along my jawline over to my neck while his hands were sprawled out against my skin on my lower back under my shirt. It moved so slow, slow and intimate now as he etched the shirt higher in order for me to remove the shirt.

"Take this off, will ya?" He asked me against my skin as I finally moved away from him and got the shirt off of me finally and I grinned at him as he placed his hands on my thighs there and I placed my hands there along his neck.

"So demanding," I joked with him in a chuckled as he laughed back against my own lips, quieting me down as we kissed some more there on our bed. I didn't mind this going so slow, taking our time since we had so many moments that were missed with one another. I treasured it, how he mapped my skin with both his kisses and his fingers.

I could feel his finger carefully crawl up to where my bra was against my back, along my winged tattoos and he passed there, almost like a hesitance in case he was about to go over the line with me. He paused in the kissing, his hand was still there in the middle of my back and he was watching me carefully as if he was scared.

"Can I?" He asked me in almost a low whisper. He was still so cautious with me, not pushing the boundaries especially when it came to this. I loved and adored that about him, even under the hard exterior that he would use as his weapon and shield to the outside world, he was still his old self with me. I nodded my head, not thinking of anything else I would have him do as he unclasped my bra, slowly letting slide down my arms and I wrapped my own arms around him to hold him close.

Our kisses lasted into the world, as well as the love we were feeling for each other.

* * *

2 years after Mid-Way City

I woke up to the distant sound of the ocean from outside the house, the cool breeze of the morning that was seeping through the cotton sheets that was draped over me and shielding me from the world that was outside. The soft and gentle sound of one of some glass chimes that we got at a swap meet as soon as we got out here and away from the real world.

It felt like we were away from the real world.

The radio was playing in the background somewhere, out in the living room, and it was some old rock station that I could faintly hear since it was Led Zepplin floating into the small house. I cringed a bit , trying to roll over to me on my back instead of being on my stomach there and I looked up at the ceiling. I could see the pillars going over the top of the room and seeing the paint somehow worn there when we bought the place there with cash from your pockets.

It felt like we were at a better place than where we were 2 years ago when we walked away from my parents. A brand new chapter that we were going through and we weren't going to look back on. At first, I didn't know where to go that both be isolated from plenty of other people and yet close enough where we would feel safe. But knowing the pair of us, we needed to start fresh again.

"Morning beautiful," I grinned from hearing the voice off in the distance, rubbing my eyes there in a groan as he walked over to the side of the bed and laid out next to me. I could feel the bed dip a bit when he got on there and I looked over to see his face. He looked wide-eyed and alert like he was up for some time before I woke up myself. I was sued to that since he was more of an early riser than I was, needing to do pushups in the bedroom or go on a run down the road a bit to get his mind back at ease.

"Hello, handsome," I replied back in a groggy tone as I was trying to wake up. He chuckled from how I responded to him, almost sounding like a child with how it came out of my mouth.

"Someone doesn't like waking up in the morning," He commented, in which I gave him a playful glare now as I was sitting up in the bed. I was wearing one of my old t-shirts, the blue Dodgers shirt that I wore on my mission with the Suicide Squad. It was worn down, almost a wee bit too thin for my liking, but I would still have it for both a trophy for surviving that night and for some kind of comfort. Chato even looked down at the shirt there too, reached out to touch the sleeve there along my arm.

"I remember when I got you this for your birthday," He voiced, having me watching him as he was thinking back to that memory, "16th birthday at Dodger Stadium."

"You got me my first Dodger Dog, which by the way was still subpar," I joked, seeing him giving me a mocked look like he was hurt from what I told him. It was already like we were teenagers all over again, the notion that we were innocent and not having to fear about what could split us apart.

"That one hurts," he commented as I chuckled and sneaked in a kiss there on his lips, already making me feel way more alert for the day. Once I pulled away from him, the both of us were still close enough to give another kiss if we could, I spoke up with me bolder voice instead of it being groggy.

"You'll get over it. Come on, we can grab some food in town before I head into work," I reminded him as I finally got up from the bed and moved the covers out of the way. I walked over to the dresser to grab some clothes for me to wear as I ruffled my hair with my other hand.

"Can't you call in sick? We can stay in bed…all day long…" Chato tried to coax with me as he leaned against me from behind and snuck a kiss on my neck, having me shake my head with a huge grin on my face as I turned and faced him there, almost seeing him trap me there against the dresser with both of his arms on either side of me, his own devilish smirk was on his face.

"As tempting as it is, really tempting if I do say so myself," I said in a low manner, then moving a bit farther back with a finger pressed to his chest to stop him from anymore antics that I knew he would try to pull on me, "I have a recital to get the girls ready for. And you, by the way, need to get to your work too."

"They won't need me today. I really think that they can really get through one day without me helping with the machinery." Chato replied nonchalantly as I moved to go into our small bathroom to change into my regular clothes for the day. I looked right into the mirror then, seeing my reflection there in the mirror and having to case in order to get a real good look at what I looked like now.

Those scars from the battle with the Angel two years ago was still evident there along my skin: the thin line on my arm, a bent there along my cheek from the impact of a fist, and a few other little pieces of a scar here and there where I could or could not see. It was always a set back for me to see those on my own skin as a trophy or a sign of what I would have to remind myself of what I went through in the past.

Chato's phone was ringing in the background outside of the bathroom while I was changing, having me hear him answer it and talk on the phone for a minute or so as I was getting the last bit of my clothes on and fretting up in the mirror. I felt older as I looked at the lines there on my face and even the lessening glimmer in my eyes. It was all the times that I fought others and tried to be the best Angel that I could be. The plenty o hours that I had taken for the sake of fulfilling some kind of destiny that took a toll on me, both on my body and within my mind. I felt more tired, less youthful and more worn down and in need of a tune up somehow. At least I wasn't fighting any more battles, that was always a reassuring thought.

I got out of the bathroom in time to hear more from Chato on the phone. He was in the kitchen by that point as I walked in to grab from coffee that was done brewing. Pouring myself a cup, I took a drink as I was listening in on the conversation that he was haven with whoever was on the other end of the cell.

"Yeah I know. We're both busy right now….don't pull that shit on us," He chuckled when something was said on the other end, "Yeah when hell freezes over, you know that. Oh, come on, homie. Look she's right here if you wanna hear it from her, yeah here she is." He then lowered the phone to hand it over to me there, having me look at him in question as I placed the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked as I placed my cup of coffee on the counter there in front of me.

"Hey, badass," I grinned, hearing the voice of none other than Deadshot on the other end, "I was telling homeboy a second ago that it's been long overdue since we have a visit from the both of you here back at home."

"Oh, come on Deadshot. I thought I told you last time how it's gonna be now that we both have jobs to do require our time," I reminded him, hearing a dry chuckle on his end of the line.

"I know, I know. But let's be honest: Waller's been on our ass way more these days and we need some familiar faces. Plus, I think we might need an intervention or else Boomerang is going to kill her, and that means the chair for him."

"You trying to lewer us out or what?" I asked him now, rolling my eyes as I could see Chato drinking out of my cup. I slapped his hand, and he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Is it that obvious?" He asked me back in the phone.

"You're not that great with lying to an Angel, Deadshot," I reminded him.

"I gotta remember that. Still, you guys gotta get your asses out here. That islands' gotta be boring right now," Deadshot teased as Chato finally snagged the phone away from me and he placed it on his ear as I wrapped my arms around Chato.

"Hey, leave my wife alone and we'll be out there next week, you got me homie?" He asked on the phone, having me grin there as he used that phrase with me. There was something about him calling me his wife that made everything else slow down and almost freeze in time. Sure there was no real thought when we were little that I would marry him when he ran into my dad's shop to hide from stealing a candy bar.

That little boy was just like any other boy, but I didn't think I would fall in love with him or call him my husband. I had to remind myself that I was truly awake, that this was real idea let hat I went through was beyond worth it because I had him. I only needed him and the road ahead of us. I didn't care that I was far from being a true Angel, or that my parents were still going to hate me for what I was not in their eyes.

All I had, and all that I needed, was the boy in my arms.


End file.
